A little of this; a little of that

It feels like I am finally settling into the whole Instagram-ing routine. Once again, I have collected the latest images that I've shared there, beginning with the most recent above, mostly shots taken out & about in Florence. The exception is the top center image, which shows another set of cards featuring one of my prototype designs for Studio Milledisegni; these nature-inspired greens are printed on kraft cardstock (though the sunshine has made it appear brighter/less "kraft-y").

On the subject of kraft paper, which I tend to gravitate toward, it seems to have become a bit of a theme around here lately. As well as the card design test prints, it showed up in the form of a dozen lovely notebooks by Artway & in the packaging of a handful of loose leaf teas (top three images below).

The middle trio was inspired by the completely different views as I looked west, then east, while crossing Ponte Santa Trìnita one evening.

The bottom row——a few images from my last trip to NYC——I posted in honor of my recent website update/renovation. The new website has a section devoted to photography, and NYC is one of the evolving "branches." I had always meant to post some images of Manhattan here on the blog, but had a hard time with the sifting & sorting process...there are so many I'd like to share! These are perhaps some rather "quiet" selections, but they are among my favorites——as much for their patterns/palette as for the memories...

 

This next set of nine records February's presence of orange: all of the oranges we've been eating + some gorgeous freesias on the studio table——they seem to have become a February tradition. The middle row shows off some of the gorgeous ribbons I recently ordered from Angela Liguori's Studio Carta + a view of the Arno that seemed to mirror the copper-y shades of ribbon. The bottom row includes a few shots from a photoshoot during the latest testing of my salted caramel recipe...

 

The next nine:

The top center image is another variation on a Studio Milledisegni prototype I have been experimenting with, and I liked how the colors of that gorgeous foliage on the left seemed to have inspired the palette for the cards (maybe subconsciously; it's one of my favorite plants to photograph at the local rose garden). The right image shows the late afternoon light shortly before it left the southeast corner of Ponte Vecchio one blue-skied day.

In the middle row is my first issue of Uppercase magazine, enjoyed with a blood orange juice spremuta; some particularly colorful confetti during carnevale in the center; and a small homage in honor of Laura Ingalls Wilder's birthday, including the first of the paperwhite blooms.

The bottom row shows January's Daily Measures, which you may have seen in a past blog post (I'll post February's shortly), along with some of the story lines/strips that inspired the Daily Measures & another "line/strip" experiment with the weaving of seaweed at the beach a couple of summers ago.

And here is one last set of three...

I have not been happy with my results using the Derwent Graphitint pencils that I bought over a year ago, but I did enjoy making a pencil "poem" with them one day. I like, too, that the photo continues the theme of "lines" that I so enjoy exploring. It came about one day when the colors with names of things you can eat & drink leapt out at me:

Port in a Storm
 Cocoa
 Aubergine
 Chestnut
 Port [in a]
 Storm

I am happy to say that the rather muted pencils do create a lovely effect on the kraft paper pages of my new notebooks! Maybe this is the way to go....

The center photo shows a late afternoon view from Ponte Vecchio, with the Uffizi and its reflection on the left——I love the birds flying off into the distance. Where to, I wonder?

On the lower right is a tea box that my daughter put together for a friend's birthday...it was fun to help her outfit it and package up the contents with bits & pieces from around the studio. I love how she even "stained" the box with some leftover tea/coffee/gouache that I'd used to paint some journal pages. Re-recycling!

 

I will continue to gather my photos from Instagram here at intervals; though they cover only a small part of what makes up my days, I always enjoy reconsidering these snippets... In the meanwhile, please let me know if you have an Instagram account; I would love to see how it figures into your life!