I wish this were me/ mine....

...but it is a portrait of Threeasfour designer Angela Donhauser 

as seen through the lens of DIETMAR BUSSE.

That works too. 

And it's on my blog now, so it's kind of mine :)

A date with a big white dress ~

I did this portrait of my sister in law, Kelly,  for her for Christmas.   I had such an amazing "date" with her dress at her mom's house. I just sat and studied it with my sketch book. I was just like curling up with a good book in front of a fireplace.  the lace was so intricate and so beautiful. the motifs on the dress never really repeat. it was as if the lace just grew that way and was pruned back perfectly symmetrically by a very crafty gardener.   i have a feeling this isn't my last portrait!

 so much love :)

South Africa: Kalk Bay

 Sleepy little beach town that we stopped in on our way to the Cape Point.   we had amazing crepes at "Excuse My French, "  a creperie meets old vintage furniture shop.  It was a really amazingly pleasant that morning...  the sun was shining... there were boogie boarders on the surf that we could watch  from our breakfast spot.  There was a man jamming on his guitar there too. super lovely.

This was an old bookstore we passed by. I loved these images.

There were some really unique boutiques there as well. Mythology was my favorite.

South Africa: Handbag idea

 To me, this looks like a handbag waiting to happen. 

It's just some climbing rope ( attached to the keys to our hostel) sitting on top of someones chalk bag.  Or it could be a very casual fun little purse.

You can even keep your keys on the bag strap. :)

South Africa: Vibrant Locust

Crazy little bug I saw on our hike today. Apparently some kind of a locust that other animals think is poisonous, but actually isn't.   I love how beautiful the colors are together.   He really is bluer in person if you can believe that.

South Africa: Thai pillows, French Cafe, Dosas, Pan-African Dining

Well, obviously a lot of Thai influences in Lauren's beautiful  Fourways home.  But relevant to my personal style.  These pillows are something that Bryan and I are obsessed with finding for our new place in PA.

Our first night in Johannesburg, Lauren and Chris brought us to a beautiful outdoor market, where we had dosas and coffee from Bettina's cafe. I loved the ballerina slippers and the old phonograph paired with the fresh flowers.  Trinkets abound already!

Moyo was our dinner destination. It was a very authentic South African restaurant.  There were pillows around, and blankets to wear over your lap as we were outdoors, there were torches and candle light everywhere and larger contained fires for warmth and light that smelled of burning wood.  Upon being seated, the waiter brought us a wooden bowl and a cloth and poured water over our hands (so we could wash them) and then dry them.  I had never seen it done this way before, but I did enjoy the ritual.

The following day, we went to the local African market to see their wares, before we headed by car into the wilderness of Waterval Boven, where we would stay for the next 3 days. These fabrics are made in the Congo with natural vegetable dyes. There were so many different patterns and variations, I felt like I was at a print show! 

Taking off for Africa...

 I am reading the guide book on the plane to South Africa.... there is so much color theory to experiment with... you can use the same shapes over and over again, but inserting different colors into those shapes, they look entirely different.  This was a key element in the Xhosa traditional designs I casually tried to recreate and study here.