Gypsy Gallery

Last night my daughter and her boyfriend and my husband helped me set up for the Gypsy Gallery's 7th Annual Holiday Show at the Empire Building, 10th and Idaho, which opens today, Tuesday, December 1. Show hours are Tuesday December 1 through Saturday December 5, open 11-1 and 4-6 T, W, F; 11-1 and 4-9 First Thursday, 10-5 Saturday and 11-3 Sunday.

Marianne, a friend and fellow artist who was one of the founders of the Gypsy Gallery wrote up a nice history of the group on her blog today, so if you want to know more about it...check out her blog @

http://mkonvalinka.blogspot.com/2009/12/about-gypsy-gallery.html

There will be 19 of us set up- we will all be there on Thursday night but are taking turns sitting with the art the rest of the week. I am going down tomorrow at 1 to learn the procedures and then my first shift is from 4-6.

North End Organic Nursery

My friends and neighbors Lindsay and Ray are starting a new business all about being "green" and "local", Lindsay asked if I would like to put some of my pieces in their new gift shop which is opening this Friday- Black Friday. She was especially looking for things that used recycled materials. I spent yesterday going through my inventory and picked out 32 items to box up and bring her today. Wednesday will be spent setting up the shop and I am going to go down and help, the cool thing is the location is less than a mile away and they did not build a new building but are recycling and reclaiming a structure that has been empty ever since we moved here 2 years ago.

So how are the items above made using recycled materials you might ask? Well they are all made of items I either already had or found at garage sales, thrift stores etc. then I put them together in new ways and give them a second life. What was once someone's trash can now be someone else's treasure.