Crafts - grace grits and gardening

How to Make Pumpkins from Recycled Books

August 31, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

Once September rolls around, I am all about decorating for Halloween. I saw a similar recycled book pumpkin project on Pinterest and couldn’t wait to try it.The hardest part of the project for me was selecting which book to use. ‘Defacing’ a book is downright sinful; however, I decided an old Fodor travel book on the Caribbean was expendable. If I return to the islands, I’ll buy a more up-to-date issue.Continue Reading

the art of Cannon Beach

August 23, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

We wandered into the art studio of Richard Gorsuch, who paints from his cute bungalow just off Ocean Drive in Cannon Beach. Instead of ferns and hanging baskets, his porch overflowed with a paint-smeared easel and work-in-process oil paintings.

He pulled us inside past his turquoise screen door, and I immediately felt at home.

With a round face, white beard and rosy cheeks, he was the Miracle on 34th Street Kris Kringle. His eyes even twinkled when he spoke of his love for art and Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock.

He moved to Cannon Beach in 1999 specifically to paint Haystack Rock. Everyday he paints the rock, in different weather, different light, different seasons. That rock is my passion, he said. And I wanted my boys to grow up running on the sand, he added. And they did. (His boys, now in their twenties, are also artists living nearby.)

photo courtesy of Roy S. Talbot

It’s not been easy. We had just enough money to buy this place which was really only a shack at the time. Sometimes we weren’t sure we would survive living off our art, but so far we’ve made it. When you want something with your entire being, you find a way to make it happen.

We sat and visited with Mr. Gorsuch as though we had known him for years. We studied his paintings, the way he captured light off the tide pools, the way he painted peacefulness.

Just beyond his window, thick, thriving hydrangea distracted me with flower heads the size of basketballs, more deep purple than blue.

I wondered how he resisted painting the hydrangea. At least once.

talya

How To Make Decorative Gift Wrap Bows

August 19, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

The next time you wrap a gift, why not make your own bow? This creative process is a simple way to recycle magazines, newspapers and scrap paper.

For my two examples, I used scrapbook paper and a magazine page.

Cut the magazine page into nine strips, ¾ inch wide. Leave three of the strips the length of the magazine page (about 9.5 inches long). Cut one inch from the top of the next three strips. Cut two inches from the next two strips. Cut the last strip three inches long.