Rustic Exploration

I'm
dreaming of living in Mildred's Lane school. For those of you who aren't familiar with this artists' colony...it's a must for you to check out! J. Morgan Puett is the genius mastermind behind this wonderfully-refreshing collaboration. It's a beautiful ongoing experiment in art, design, and aestheticized living. She's made her private property into an eclectically-rich and VERY rustic retreat/think tank for artists to explore their interests...in an unconventional setting. She's created this retreat deep in the hills of Pennsylvania along the Delaware river. She, along with her partner have built these amazingly-cool rustic cabins, barns, tents, and gardens and filled them with antiques, collected art, hundreds of books, taxidermy, skulls, and other worn odds and ends that give us just a few hints at her wild and elusive genius-ness.

Here's my latest attempt at rustic/organic exploration:

I photographed the centerpiece up above in front of our compost crate...the centerpiece was for a client and the compost crate is a "free" thing we got a while back at Lowes. Lowe's throws away their rustic (and cute) wooden crates. I'm thinking I might get a few more for repurposing them into tables for an outdoor party this fall.

Last weekend I had very little time for prepping for a baby shower. I was told that the baby's mother would like some picture frames and that the hostess would like centerpieces that were "different". So, I knew right away that I would purchase a deep, 8x12x3 inch black shadowbox to use as the centerpiece compote (much like a tray) I then called up Janet Pearson (The Orchid Lady) to see what mosses were available...she then said that she had the most gorgeous and lush "baby tears" she had ever seen. She was SO right! I DO love Janet and her flair!! Can't wait to show you all of her genius-ness!

I then added a large hosta leaf and a pumpkin bloom from my back yard. To top it off, I added a personalized smooth river stone with the baby's name on it. The hostess was thrilled with the organic flair, and the mother was pretty elated to be taking home some "Happy" baby tears in a box (that could later be used for displaying her baby's sweet sentimentals).

P.S...the boy and girl with the bike pic is a sneak peak from an engagement party shoot I've been working on. Janae Hardy photography. There are soo many great pictures from this shoot that I can't wait to post!

x's and o'sies,

sharon