Sketch Upon A Time » Christmas http://michaelstorrings.com/blog Looking Forward to Creating Memories Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:08:36 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Last Day of Convention, Museum Room, and Napa Valley Wine. http://michaelstorrings.com/blog/2009/08/13/last-day-of-convention-museum-room-and-napa-valley-wine/ http://michaelstorrings.com/blog/2009/08/13/last-day-of-convention-museum-room-and-napa-valley-wine/#comments Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:58:58 +0000 Michael Storrings http://michaelstorrings.com/blog/?p=93 img_41041

The morning of the last day at the convention  was spent working  in the museum room.   I was in charge of watching the area containing the  Thomas Nast prints. It was great view from my post, as I was able to  look at all that great artwork once again.  Below are just a few images from the exhibit from the areas where I could take photos.

After that I took a trip to Napa Valley  with Jo  from Landmark Creations.

We had  a great afternoon testing samples of various wines at Sterling Vineyards. The 2008 Cellar Club Viognier and the SVR 95 were standouts!

The evening was capped off by a lovely turkey dinner with all the trimmings and Christmas play where snow bubbles  softly fell onto the audience.

I can’t wait until next year when I can see all my new  “glow” friends in Milwaukee.

Until the next sketch!

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]]> http://michaelstorrings.com/blog/2009/08/13/last-day-of-convention-museum-room-and-napa-valley-wine/feed/ 2 Batting ornaments and trees http://michaelstorrings.com/blog/2009/08/04/batting-ornaments-and-trees/ http://michaelstorrings.com/blog/2009/08/04/batting-ornaments-and-trees/#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:44:57 +0000 Michael Storrings http://michaelstorrings.com/blog/?p=61 047054

Convention Day two.

Had a wonderful breakfast with some Glow members from Honolulu, Hawaii, and then ventured off to one of the workshops. First I learned to make a cotton batting ornament with artist Lucy Webber.

These are ornaments made from batting, in this case cotton, which is less than a quarter of an inch thick and comes in sheets. From Lucy’s website “Cotton batting ornaments were made in the late 1800′s by cottage craftsmen of the Saxon Thuringian area of Germany.”

At the end  of the workshop, I had  a cute little Santa!  (whose photo is above.)

Second workshop was on how to make a cotton batting tree with folk artist  Jack Roads.  You start with a wire frame of a tree in a wooden base(or you can use a real tree), apply glue to each branch and to the trunk, and wrap it in cotton batting.  Then you use wallpaper paste to hold it all together and smooth it out.  A photo of  my final product is at top.

Fun times, great instructors!

By the way, I did find that antique feather tree – a small early green  table-top one with tin candle holders… and  guess who was selling it? The couple next to me in the ornament workshop!

Until the next sketch!051049

]]> http://michaelstorrings.com/blog/2009/08/04/batting-ornaments-and-trees/feed/ 0 Santa Baby! http://michaelstorrings.com/blog/2009/07/28/santa-baby/ http://michaelstorrings.com/blog/2009/07/28/santa-baby/#comments Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:39:08 +0000 Michael Storrings http://michaelstorrings.com/blog/?p=34 Well,  I thought it would be fun to share a snapshot I found in my parent’s photo album on a recent trip to upstate santababyNY—my first Christmas!  There I am, decked out in full Santa gear.  My brother is holding me in his lap while looking dapper in his Perry Como sweater and my sister is to his side in quite a festive outfit (pre “Lord of the Dance”).  You can see now how from birth I was instilled with a love for the holidays!  Many of the things under the tree are now part of my “vintage” collection.  Love that pink reindeer!  My mom used to get old shoe boxes  and “cotton glittered snow” and create magical scenes.

Tinsel was strewn from the branches in my youth until we got a dog and he ate it and…you know!

With the Christmas convention coming up, I have been reflecting on the wonderful Christmas memories of my past and how much they are a part of me and my art.

Until the next sketch!

]]> http://michaelstorrings.com/blog/2009/07/28/santa-baby/feed/ 0 My Blog Begins! http://michaelstorrings.com/blog/2009/07/25/my-blog-begins/ http://michaelstorrings.com/blog/2009/07/25/my-blog-begins/#comments Sat, 25 Jul 2009 22:46:14 +0000 Michael Storrings http://michaelstorrings.com/blog/?p=11 I have been eager to start blogging so I can share some of the wonderful memories from my events, Christmas, childhood, and daily life.  I also plan to talk about some of the various things I am currently working on and engaged in.

So, today is the beginning. Jeffrey Keefer has helped  me set everything all up in WordPress—many of you know him as the helper at my signings.

It took awhile to come up with a name for my blog.  At first, I tried to play off of my last name—like “Storrings Sketches,” but thought it wasn’t quite working for various reasons.  Consequently, I sat down and just brainstormed a list.  Potential candidates included—Happy Sketchbook, Color Me Happy, Sketch and the City, Night Before Sketching, and Once Upon a Sketchbook. Eventually I settled on Sketch Upon A Time. For me, it captures the fact that I am an artist reminiscing about magical moments in my life.

I hope you will continue to follow me here—either by signing up to receive email notifications or by subscribing to my blog’s RSS feed. I welcome any comments or thoughts you may have.

Until the next sketch!

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