Laurie Spugnardi

Archive for January, 2010

Washed Away

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

It snowed big-time last week. This week, the rain washed it all away.

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One Month In

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

A RAINBOW UNDER SNOW, 2010

One month past the winter solstice. Some are looking forward to the warmth and colors of spring, others are frolicking in a foot or more of the white stuff. If you’re from Maine, it’s healthy to be doing both. It’s a kind of coping mechanism for northern dwellers. We humans are poorly evolved for this bi-polar weather. So, year after year we layer-up, strip-down and repeat. Today, the fresh snow is twinkling in the winter morning sun. Later, as the sun sets, the sky will turn a kind of indigo blue that you can only find reproduced in a Maxfield Parrish painting.

MAXFIELD PARRISH, 1949

It will be another few months before spring arrives and I find sure footing on the driveway once again…. But today looks like a frolic in the bright snow kind of day.

A FOREST OF BLEEDING HEARTS, SPRING 2009

Later, as the sun goes down, I’ll watch the sky turn purple and dream of spring as I paw through photographs of warmer times and yard filled with color.

Tags: glass mosaic sphere, maine, maxfield parrish, winter
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Haiti Earthquake Relief: The Creative Community Steps Up

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

…so many miles away in a country few get to see. Images stream in from news sources and they are devastating. Their stories break the heart. How can one stand idly by in the face of such human suffering?

Are you ready to help? I am. Here are two ways to support the relief efforts in Haiti and give a nod to artists trying to make the world a better place in the best way they know how.

1) I have suspended shipping fees in my etsy shop and will donate half of every sale to Konbit Sante | Cap-Haitien Health Partnership until Tuesday, February 2.

2) You’ll also find my best selling item here at Craft Hope for Haiti along with over one hundred other donated crafts and art pieces. All proceeds (besides shipping and etsy fees) are donated to Doctors Without Borders.

Be generous if you are able, if not, please say a little prayer and send some love their way. It is the least we can do. Thank you.

Tags: craft hope, donation, haiti
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A Ceramic Tile Mural Begins: Inspire Me Hiroshige!

Friday, January 15th, 2010

Every project starts with a conversation. This one took place while sipping green tea and fawning over Japanese paintings by Hiroshige and Hokusai. The client wants something that will enhance a blank wall in her body wellness center. We talk about creating a sense of place, color, perspective, mood and energy. “Earth, sea or sky?” I ask. “Earth, definitely Earth” she says. …and now the sketching begins. Today, I love my job.

Tags: ceramic tile, custom tile, hiroshige, hokusai, tile mural
Posted in Uncategorized, goings on in the studio, on design | 1 Comment »

While they are small… Footsie Tiles

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

I recently painted these Footsie Tiles. The baby was such a trooper as I painted his little soles and stamped them on the tile. It is always a pleasure to hold one so small and a pleasure to paint around these little footprints. I have children of my own and know how fast they grow. When the soles of those feet start fitting into adult sizes and coming home past curfew, mom and dad will be glad they marked this brief moment in time.