Books I am loving ...

Bookplates by Nelley Kelley studio

Some of you may know that I was sidelined by a skiing accident over our February vacation.  I broke my pelvis chasing my 14 year old son down the mountain at Sunday River in Maine.  I have learned that I am no longer 14 as I no longer bounce like I used to and I am currently learning the virtue of patience ~ probably one of the more difficult virtues to master.

I have had a good deal of sitting around time and thought that I would share with you what I'm currently  reading to keep my spirits high and my creative juices flowing.  

My reading list

Let's begin with Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese - an exceptional read that takes place in Ethiopia, New York and Boston.  It is so beautifully written that I was moved to tears by the end of the book.  The Los Angeles Times said it was so good that "...you may never leave your chair." Well, I couldn't leave my chair and yet this was the one time that I was glad that I didn't have to.

The Encyclopedia of the Exquisite by Jessica Kerwin Jenkins is a perfect little read that requires little from you. Each one or two page entry details the history of various luxuries or artifacts in food, art, travel, home, garden and beauty over the centuries. 

Water, Paper, Paint by Heather Smith Jones and Paper + Craft by Minhee and Truman Cho  have kept me dreaming of getting my hands dirty in the studio again.  This is where the patience comes into play - I want to start trying out some these projects so badly but instead will just keep bookmarking them.  Soon!  

You can't think of crafts without looking through Martha Stewart's Enclycopedia of Crafts - there isn't a thing that she left out in this book.  It belongs on every aspiring crafter / artist's bookshelf.   

Maira Kalman's book, Maira Kalman Various Illuminations (of a Crazy World) is inspirational to me.  You may know Maira Kalman as the creator of many covers for the NewYorker.  Her artwork inspired me to be confident in my artistic abilities and to feel comfortable enough to put it out to the public. 

All of these books can easily be purchased at Amazon but why do that when you can visit your local bookshop and make it more of an event for yourself.  My favorite book shop is The Concord Bookshop located on Main Street right here in downtown Concord.  It was my first official outing when I felt safe enough to take to the streets with my crutches.

A page from Vera the art and life of an icon

I almost forgot to mention Vera, the Art and Life of an Icon by Susan Seid.  I'm sure you remember the famous Vera scarves from the 70s and 80s.  One of my first jobs as a teenager was working in the iconic Filene's Basement.  It was a coveted job by any Boston girl and I got this job courtesy of my Uncle George's friendship with one of the executives of Filene's.  I worked the booth that was stocked with scarves and most of them where by Vera.  Oh - if I knew then what I know now! 

 Her imagery has stayed with me for all these years and when I saw this book - I knew,  I just had to have it.  Right now I'm inspired by her florals and am currently working on my own floral series that I hope to turn into fabric and ultimately some cool products.  Stay tuned - and check out this book if you love great, graphic artwork!  

Flowers from my husband

My husband sent me these flowers the other day.  They are from my favorite florist of all ... Winston Flowers.  Are these not the most gorgeous calla-lillies that you have ever seen?  Every morning that I wake up they bring a smile to me because they just scream happy and sunshine!  A big love-filled thank you to my wonderful husband and son who have taken such great care of me and to all my friends and family who have visited and kept us well fed - thank you. 

I am mobile and getting better every day and I'm planning to tackle some of these wonderful projects that I've dog-eared over these past couple weeks.  Stay-tuned next week to see what I come up with ...

see you soon,

Ellen