Rodrigvitz Style

Fun Fun FUN day

My birthday falls somewhere around labor day weekend so I always try to take advantage of the extended holiday.  This year we spent the entire day and evening with bd celebrating starting with the Tour de Farms...a guided bike tour of 3 local farms...here's a taste.

Mark Olin shared with us his passion of healthy farming practices on his family farm...Olin Farms.  We wandered through his beautiful farm, learning about his sustainable farming practices and enjoying a breakfast bounty of fresh food.  

The bike route took us over dirt roads on a course of about 25 miles.

Our next stop was Pachamama farm...a favorite farmers market vendor of mine. Ewel explained how to tell a muskmelon from cantaloupe...this yummy! muskmelon has ribs where a cantaloupe's body is smooth, no ribs.

Rows of echinacea that they will harvest to make tinctures of the roots.

Right across the road from Pachamama is Lone Hawk Farm where we enjoyed an incredible farm to table lunch.

a spread of fresh bread, herbed butter, hummus...curried quinoa with cashews and veggies...

a salad of tomato, peppers, cucumber and goat cheese...white bean and barley soup.  Only problem, how do we now get back on our bikes to keep riding!

Tom Lopez, the owner of Lone Hawk has created a number of fascinating solar powered tools, everything from this solar powered tractor to lawn mowers and tillers that he demonstrated for us.

Tom envisions his pick your own garden as a welcoming place...for the community to stay a while and enjoy.

He is constructing this beautiful enclosure..planting it with grape vines, wanting to create a shady spot to sit within...reaching up to pick a grape or two and enjoy his farm.

We are lucky to have many small organic farms in the area and Transition Colorado has plans to organize more such tours...we plan on doing this again!

Back home from the day long ride to a wonderful party with good friends, family and a spread fit for a queen!

Thanks everyone for making this such a special day!!

Hope you all enjoyed a lovely weekend!

Busy Bees

Busy weekend...we were all buzzing around.  Tess's dear friend Amanda and her husband threw a party at our house to celebrate completing their MBA's.

The girls were in production mode creating a vast array of incredible cupcakes....

my personal favorite, sweet potato cupcake with cream cheese frosting topped with roasted walnuts

Tess was the party planner extraordinaire....these large tissue paper balls hanging among the many little tea lights

and some of my pieces came out of the kiln.  Mr R cut many little lengths of heavy copper wire for me as well as re-drilling holes in the clay beads so that I could begin attaching the bugs and bees

...we will be assembling the totems in a couple of days and I can't wait to share that with you.

Hope you were able to find some cool this weekend

Birthday Wishes

I am late to the party I know....but am struggling to get back into the swing of the real world after a week away and a caffeine hangover from the long drive.  A certain Ms Fanciful, Vanessa celebrated her birthday yesterday and a party was thrown in her honor.  These images are of Vanessa's little snail girls that live happily here in the Mango Studio....photographed in warmer times, when show and cold were the furthest thing from my mind.

 

I am happy to call Vanessa my friend....she is one of those rare creative creatures that lives a truly authentic life and is generous enough to share so much of it with us.

I am not the only one who feels the loving creativity oozing from this girl....go HERE to help Vanessa celebrate her special day.

Season of Poe and Snow

I missed Vanessa's Haunted party but shall share some Halloween images from downtown shop windows with Elizabeth and others

and words of Poe...

 

By a route obscure and lonely,

 

Haunted by ill angels only, Where an Eidolon, named NIGHT,

 

On a black throne reigns upright,

Dreamland, Edgar Allen Poe

Another spooky site....Snow, and lots of it
 

Buried Treasure

Digging for a post to re-post....for Seth's Buried Treasure.  This was tough, there are posts that were thoughtful, sentimental...posted of great inspiration from others and experiments in art...blog parties, tributes to friends...playing indoors and out.  I settled on this one originally posted June, 2008 that seems to combine my many passions.  Photography, stamps...COLOR...stencils, sitting around the Mango Studio with family and friends and having a glass of wine.

What buried treasures have you dug up?

I have been carving rubber stamps like nobodies business......safe to say it's an addiction,

can't seem to stop....so when I started to think about a design for a table I wanted to have made, to cover our fabulous outdoor fireplace...in the summertime....a place to set a plate, a glass of wine...I thought of a rubber stamp design.  I took this one above....

stamped it end to end....stretched and tweaked in photoshop...gave the image to my friend Rusty who put it into his CAD program that he then cut from a sheet of steel,

pick a powder coat color....and Wha La!!

to quote Michelle....How Cool is THAT!

aDRESSing the Situation and Tea Party Prep

My piece ready to ship next week...
 


send your dress art on July 1st, click on the image on the sidebar for a link to Monica's and all pertinent info

BE part of the voice that just may make a difference

AND be sure to come back on Saturday for a teeny tiny tea party here and much much more HERE

Tiny Flower Reminder....and Foretelling Things to Come

 

picking tiny flowers for a special photoshoot and birthday celebration....hard to show just how tiny this little floral bouquet is, be sure to come back on the 27th for the 'little' reveal and magical goings on...

 

and tomorrow....come one come all

to the FAC Studio Sale, I will offer a 10% discount to those who mention seeing this post on the blog

My Visitors Have Arrived

 

As soon as I saw them I knew....I LOVE these guys!

 

They had to travel from Mexico to join the others at the Rodrigvitz hacienda....

 

they are named Mictlani's by the artist Angelica Garcia, Arte Topalli, and each has it's own unique personality 

 

and they're settling in well....

                                      

Don't forget Dia de Bloglandia (read post below for me info), leave a comment if you are going to participate...check out Angelica's Dia de los Muertos Calaveras.

Dia de Bloglandia...

 

Glass Calavera bead by Melissa Clear

I ADORE!! Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, you know that....it's the Mexican holiday of honoring and remembering those that have passed.  I love the art and images, colors and traditions.  In many cultures it is taboo to talk about death, to dwell on it, but this Mexican tradition celebrates the memories and lives of loved ones. 

So...how about a Bloglandia style celebration of this holiday?  Susanna and I would like to host a Dia de los Muertos party.  Are you game?  You can create an Ofrenda, a journal page, a story, an artwork...an entire Day of the Dead celebration...anything you'd like.  Just leave a comment here and at Susanna's if you'd like to play and on Sunday, November 2nd post your photos, art and/or stories. We'll have a page of links so we can all go 'round and celebrate our art, friends and families. 

                                   

Feel free to use this button to tell others about the party.

What exactly is Dia de los Muertos?  Once a year on November 1st (for children, dia de los Inocentes)and November 2nd (All Saints Day) families build Ofrendas, alters that contain photographs, the favorite foods and drinks of the dead...clothing, marigolds....lots of marigolds, sugar skulls and other art, anything that brings to mind the one that has passed away.  The vibrant artwork depicting skeletons doing worldly things, bread shaped into skulls, garlands of marigolds are used to decorate Ofrendas, cemeteries and homes in honor and celebration of the deceased.  Need some ideas??  Read on.... 

 

This is an alter that Mr R created for his mother, father and daughter, candles are lit and it is decorated with marigolds this time of year.  It contains photographs of his parents, both as young people and as grama and grampa to Tess, a little horse to remind us of his mothers collections, pictures of John Wayne....her fav...as well as crosses and rosaries. 

 

The Lakewood Cultural Center has a Day of the Dead exhibit of work by Colorado artist Carlos Fresquez.   

 

His paintings, prints and installations honor and celebrate his family and cultural heritage.  This show is not to be missed if you happen to be in the area.

Jose Guadalupe Posada was a graphic artist in the late 1800's that wrote and illustrated for newspapers and political satire.  After his death his work was re-discovered and is credited with inspiring images for Dia de los Muertos and has since inspired many artists.

A journal page I created for Mr R's mom and my 2 grandmothers...

I hope you ALL join the party!  Remember to leave me a comment here then go on over to Susanna's and leave her a comment as well so we can begin adding links....now go off and create and post on Sunday, November 2nd.

Spanish 101

EL PESCADO.....

LA ROSA.....

Peruvian party fun....read all about it here