I am really missing doing art shows in the new normal. I have created lots of new art for the shows that were supposed to be so I wanted to let you guys see them. If you see something that catches your eye, email me at flowerfloozydesigns@yahoo.com and I can ship it to you. Maybe you will spot a great Birthday, Mothers Day, or Cheer you up present!
This weekend, October 25 – 27, 2019, is Christmas Made in the South at the Cabarrus Arena in Concord, NC. I hope to see lots of you there. If you love Christmas and you love art and handmade, this is the show for you. Free parking close to the building and 300+ juried artists to enjoy. I have been working hard and having lot os fun getting ready. Here are 2 of the pieces that I will have there. Come out and see me! I am near the front entrance across from Santa Claus.
I was reading Art Elements Blog last month and saw that the September Challenge was to create art using Foliage. I love all of God’s creations and have been thinking about foliage and the varieties and beauty of it. Some of you may know that the reason my mosaic business is named Flower Floozy Designs is because I am so crazy for flowers and color. I belong to a group of gardening ladies who call ourselves the Planters Nuts. Most of them have lots of shade and have been very much into foliage for years. I always made a beeline for the flowers at the nurseries so they teased me that I was a Flower Floozy. It’s true! But lately I have been making a conscious effort to look at foliage to appreciate the beauty in the leaves. I accomplished a few things this month with foliage and looked back through my previous projects for a few more examples of foliage to share with you.
Here is my most recent project. I am still learning the ins and outs of my new kiln so I made these small leaf dishes that can be used as soap dishes, ring dishes, or outside in the garden to hold water for the birds. The dishes were made using a leaf from the garden as a pattern for the pottery. After they were fired, I mosaiced the leaf dishes with stained glass and grouted.
Here are a few other past projects that I made highlighting the greenery, leaves and foliage.
Art Elements has organized a group of artists who are all spotlighting foliage this month. Check out these other amazing artists. Click on the name and it will take you to their pages.
Guests
I hope you have as much fun checking out all of the different ways that foliage is interpreted in art. I am now super inspired to go create more foliage art and to study it more closely.
I recently sold one of my favorite windows I have completed. It was based on the old hymn, “In the Garden”. My favorite parts of that hymn are the lines, “I go to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses…and He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own. And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known”. This is my version of that garden. 
I am so excited to let you have a peak at some fun things that I created this year for clients to give as Christmas presents. I had a wide array of requests this year which made it extra fun to create these.
Today’s commission is a special lantern that I made for a mom. It is the 4 seasons of cardinals. Each side has the cardinal in their natural habitat for that season. If you know someone who might enjoy having one of these, here is the Link to purchase one. This is the small lantern. I can also do it on the large lantern for $109.99 with free shipping.
I am headed to the mountains this weekend to Art in the Park in Blowing Rock, NC. The show is Saturday, May 26 from 10 am – 5 pm in downtown Blowing Rock. Then on Saturday June 9th, I will be at Bush N Vine in York, SC for the Ag and Art Tour of South Carolina. I hope to see some of you there. Here are a few things I will have with me.
Still working on pet portrait commissions. There is nothing better in my book than mosaics and dogs so it is a win win for me. I am offering a class in Mosaic Pet Portraits on February 3 and 4. This class is an intermediate level mosaic class. If you have ever wanted to do a pet portrait, check for the class under workshops on this website.
Here are some more pieces that I have completed. Here is Sawyer. Sawyer is a Tibetan Terrier.
This sweet love with the come hither look is Blue. Blue is a jug dog. I had never heard of that until his parents visited me at the Valle Country Fair in Valle Crucis.
And last but not least. Here are Gus and Sidney. These sweet babies have crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. They were the loving pets of some friends who were in Sheltie Rescue and had many foster pups over the years. But Gus and Sidney always ruled the house.
I am excited to be bringing my stained glass mosaic art to the Southern Christmas Show in Charlotte, North Carolina again. I will be in the same booth as last year – #107 in the tent area at the front of Liberty Hall. Click Here for discount tickets.
Do you ever get stuck on a theme? For me, I often start on a subject and keep working in that subject over and over for a while. The theme this summer has been trees. Trees are such fascinating subjects for me. The term “Tree of Life;” is so literally true when you think about all of the different ways that trees support life – form the majestic eagle down to the lowly termite. I sold my latest tree to a wonderful family this past weekend in Banner Elk. Their joy and excitement with it really rejuvenated me and my excitement. They sent me a picture of it hanging in their beautiful home. Here is their tree. I am so grateful that they sent me this photo of it in it’s new home.
Another tree that I recently completed was for a friend who wanted a tree with birds in it. We recently hung this piece in her kitchen. Birds are another fascination for me and I loved creating this piece for her.
When I look at birds, my mind always returns to the Bible verse about God’s care for the sparrow. During the Depression, my grandfather Pope had a small store that he ran in the community. He was a very caring and generous man and he could not bear to see families going hungry so he continued to issue his neighbors food on credit even though he knew they could not pay him. Eventually he reached the end of his ability to provide for them. He was very distraught over how he would provide for his family of 8 people for whom he was the only provider. While out in the field trying to start a new field, he set a fire to burn off the brush so he could plow. One area of the field refused to burn even though it was thick with brush. When he went to investigate the problem, he found a small nest of sparrows. He fell to his knees weeping and praising the Lord because he knew that God had sent this to him as a sign that his family would be okay. Because if God could protect these few sparrows, he knew God would protect his family. I am very grateful for God’s protection and for the example of a godly grandfather who loved his family and loved his Lord. Here is Libby’s tree window.
Sweet Lizzie’s custom mosaic pet portrait is finished and ready to go to her mom and dad. I hope Lizzie likes it. Her mom said she does. Baxter, my Lhasa apso gave it high praise. He kept barking at it thinking it was a strange dog in the house. Thanks for the vote of confidence Baxter! If you want a custom pet portrait of your pet, click This link. 
Flower Floozy Designs 