Houston ;)

This past weekend Catherine and I hit up Houston for some shopping and art openings. It was a whole new experience, that's for sure. I was the driver, and I have never experienced a city/freeway quite like theirs. (K.C. is big, but still decent).

Luckily Houston is only 70 miles from us, so we can return pretty much whenever we want fairly easy.

One of the intersections was super fancy for some reason. This was the only one like this I saw....

As we were driving, it started to rain. The combo of rain and reflections makes this a favorite photo of mine.

Really cool old Sears building. It was vacant now though.

Art opening for Micheal Villarreal, who was an Artist in Residence in Navasota before us. 

Overall, we ended up seeing 5 different art shows and talking to a few people here and there. I hope to make it back again - I really want to get my art into one of these spaces before I leave.

Weekly Inspirations:
Art: One of my favorite shows that we saw the works of Seth Alverson. He really knows how to create depth with his paint - from far away there is so much space and then you get close and it's a flat painting. I am definitely keeping him on my radar.
Knitting: I started a new shawl that I have been wanting to start for awhile. It uses yarn that I dyed 2 summers ago that was intended for this project. Better late than never.
Food: In Houston we tried Ethiopian food. Of course Catherine has had it before. I have not, but it was super yummy. What an experience though - you don't use silverware, you pick it all up with the cool bread.
Life: I finally have my studio set up and another painting done! You should check out our Navasota blog for more info - navasota AIR Wordpress

I hope that everyone had a lovely Sunday, I know I did. :)

~Lisa

Live from Navasota

Happy Monday friends! For some of you in the US, Happy Labor day as well. If you have the day off I hope you are enjoying it.

I have had a super productive day today. I was able to get some substantive painting done, art hung up and drawings mounted. Phew I need a break.

Now I'm sure that many of you are eagerly awaiting updates on my new journey. Well you are in luck, because I am hear to share with you some of my adventures so far.

We've been doing a lot of exploring and meeting people. One of my favorite adventures thus far has been our visit to the city of Bryan this past weekend. Bryan is basically connected to College Station (which is 20 miles from us) and has a very small, yet thriving art scene. We were in College Station Saturday for a photo shoot for a local magazine and decided to go downtown for lunch.  We ended up at one of the cutest and most delicious cafe's I've ever been to. The Village Cafe is part cafe, part gallery and all amazing. They even have a small stage for local music.

Wall by the stage. 

After lunch we went down the block to the SEAD gallery, where we saw some really cool photos and paintings and met the super nice owners. They told us all about their mission and plans and also gave us a tour of Innovation Underground, a program they have that supports new and innovative ideas and individuals. At the end of the tour they had us take a photo in front of their raven mural - which is where all the "celebrities" who visit get their photo taken.

From Left: Mick's friend Jose who came to visit. Mick. Catherine, Me

Another great thing about this program is that the house has gallery space (which is also my studio). They allow us to hang up whatever work we want and switch it out whenever we want. We're open for the public to come check out what we are doing also, so it's good to have something on the walls!

Part of my gallery space

I'm still waiting around for my easel to show up, so until then I am working on old paintings I brought along. The one below is one that I started at the end of the semester before my BFA, and then when I started new ideas and techniques, I never went back to it. I decided to give it new wind today and am already loving how it's looking. Sometimes having no still life is for the best. 

Overall, I am really enjoying myself here, I've met some amazing people and seen some amazing things. I've been on one incredible journey and it's only been a week. I can't wait to see what's ahead!

The house :)

Weekly Inspirations:

Knitting: I joined the knit group at the LYS here, and my first meeting was yesterday. It was so much fun and so chill. Everyone was knitting on something completely different, but they all seem to mesh well. I am going to definitely try and go back next week.
Art: We happened to see the show at the Art's Council when we were getting our photos done. I'm not the hugest fan, but I think that she has a good idea behind her work. Danika Ostrowski is still a student, but I bet she will go far. 

Food: We've all been cooking for each other here. I keep meaning to update my food blog with new recipes, but I just haven't felt motivated. But I can tell you that Catherine makes a mean split pea soup, and my burritos last week were pretty good too!

Life: What else can I say. Life is pretty much perfect right now.

Thanks for reading guys, keep checking back for more updates and don't forget to share your thoughts with me!

~Lisa

Friday Five

I feel like Friday's have become my norm for blog posts, because here we are again at yet another one. I know it's been a bit since my last update, but I have had so many amazing things going on that I just haven't found the time to share it all with you. This past week I moved myself and all of my art to Navasota, TX, to begin my 6-month artist residency. I promise this coming week you will see an update or two on my life here.

For today, I wanted to share all things knitterly, because I have so many! Let's just call it my "Friday Five" - Five things to share :)


1) I finally finished my mom's socks about a week and a half ago, just in time for the move. She says they fit her very well, with a bit of baggy in the foot (as always...). I love how these turned out. The pattern was very easy and the yarn was a breeze to knit with. Overall, it was a nice fun project!

2) The day after I finished the socks my friend Ashley was coming over for a Disney knit day. I needed something easy and quick to work on and decided I needed more berets. I'm a big fan of the lacy kind over the cabled kind and found Gwen Slouch to be a perfect match for my stashed Premier Yarn. I literally had this done in 24 hours. :)

3)  When I started stash diving after my hat, I had no idea what I'd find or what I would make. I came across a skein of some turquoise merino from my aunt and some dark Dream in Color that I made my first socks with. As I mentioned in my last post, I am absolutely in love with this chevron cowl/scarf and decided that these two paired together nicely. All I needed as a third color, of which I found at my LYS in the form of Ella Rae classic superwash in a nice rusty pumpkin color. I think the three of these together are making for one gorgeous scarf!

4) As I was stash diving that day, I also found this berry-dyed yarn from a few summers ago.  The color is super muted and I decided it needed a pick me up. Out came the food colors and the jar and in went the yarn. I dyed it in a similar fashion to how I dyed my friend's yarn last year - by tying off only certain areas to leave the past color visible in some spots.  Through this experiment I learned that the purple Wilton's food dye tends to separate, leaving behind a bit of blue in some areas. I'm ok with this though, because I think it adds character. Definitely an improvement from the original.  

5) Yesterday, after finally feeling settled in, I went to the LYS here in Navasota - W.C. Mercantile. One step in the door and I knew I was in fiber heaven. Half the store is dedicated to spinning and the other to knitting and all was just gorgeous. They have lots and lots of local spun and dyed yarns and fibers and a very welcoming atmosphere. Safe to say I will be returning!  

My first purchase was this gorgeous bit of local alpaca from Bluebonnet Hills Alpaca, in a nice rusty color. I have been itching to spin again and this has fit the bill nicely. I cannot wait to see how it turns out.

Normally I'd go ahead and give you my weekly inspirations, but this post as already been super long. Next week I'll go back to doing that, as well as filling you all in on my first week in Texas. Until then, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

~Lisa