This WAW was pretty small, it was at my house, Melanie, with Joan, Audrey and Jen. I made lasagna with a salad and some Italian bread. And Audrey and Jen brought fresh fruit and cream for dessert. I’ve been attending WAW for a few months now and there are a couple things that have kept coming up and I thought I would mention some of them today.

Under Paintings

I don’t typically do under paintings. I don’t have the patience; I just want to dive right in. The only under painting I sometimes have is when I paint over a previous painting I didn’t like. Some members always paint under paintings. Some of their under paintings I LOVE and want them to stop painting and just leave it how it is. Joan and I had a whole conversation about this, one of her under paintings I loved and told her to leave it alone; she said I would like it better when she was finished. When she finished, while I did like the end result, I still preferred the under painting to the finished version. I think this comes down to personal aesthetic. I liked the colorful, semi-abstract under painting. I think it’s expressive and colorful and loose.

Less is More

Sometimes you just have to know when to stop. Painting in acrylic is difficult because you can keep changing and repainting and fixing every little detail of your painting until you drive yourself crazy. It’s very important to be able to realize when to stop. Most people in the group are professional artists so they have mastered this art of when to stop. However, sometimes it’s still hard and in our group painting setting it’s great to have other artist’s there to get a 2^nd, 3^rd or 4^th opinion on whether you are truly finished or not.

Trying to Figure Out What to Paint

 Every week once we finish dinner we face the task of deciding what to paint! One time Audrey came with a finished painting she had done earlier in the day, just so she would have a finished product at the end of the night, and it wouldn’t be as stressful to decide what to paint. Typically we look around the host’s home to see if there are any interesting objects to paint. This week in particular Audrey painted some tomatoes on the vine I had on my counter, Joan had brought a photograph she took to work from and Jen drew inspiration from a magazine I had laying around. I always feel stressed out when it comes time to decide what to paint. The possibilities are endless. I also want to be able to finish the painting within the night or at least within 2 weeks. Lately I’ve looked at WAW as a way to test out my ideas for other art work I want to do. It helps to execute the idea in paint to get an idea of the end result. I am not a painter. Yes I can paint but it is not my preferred medium, printmaking is and glass (fused and stained). Both are very process based and you have to go through many steps before you get the finished product so I find it very helpful to experiment in paint with my ideas I want to execute in printing or glass.

The Importance of Good Food

 Enough said.

Being Exactly Where You Should Be

Two weeks ago (sorry this is so late!) WAW was at Donna’s house, complete with delicious gumbo, string beans, rice and salad. Donna made the best chocolate chip cookies with orange zest in them! I can’t wait try that next time I make cookies.

This post is hard to write because I had so many thoughts after I left Donna’s house but I didn’t know how to say exactly what I was thinking. So here’s my attempt at that… This week in particular we talked a lot about lives and about different paths and choices and where they lead you. Everyone had different opinions and it was interesting to listen to their paths. This is more relevant to a few members of the group and me because we graduated college a year ago. What I got out of this evening was how important it is to feel like you are exactly where you should be.

Mother Artist

Driving home from WAW this week I began to think about what the heck I was going to blog about this week. I made the same mistake I always do of enjoying myself so much that I couldn’t even remember what we had talked about. The tastes of whole roasted chickens, rich and nutty quinoa salad with brown rice, apples, tomatoes, and fennel, and blueberry crumb cake kept swimming back into my memory. The colors on my palette, the wine in my glass, and that feeling of the week’s stress melting away were still vivid, but what had we talked about?

A Joni Mitchell song came on the radio and suddenly I knew exactly what I wanted to write about: my mom. This topic couldn’t be more appropriate this week with the birth of Alex’s baby (maybe we will start him on Milk Art Wednesday…) and with Mother’s Day coming up this weekend. I thought this was a great time to think about how our mothers have shaped us all in one way or another. Like great painters, our mothers laid down the base colors, provided us with a background, and then hopefully handed the paintbrush over to us to finish for ourselves.

But back to Joni Mitchell…Mom had always listened to Joni and it was a part of her that never held much weight with me as I was growing up. Her songs were light and pretty or dark and brooding and were little more than familiar sounds that I often heard coming from the stereo in the living room. It wasn’t until I started college freshman year that I finally got it, I understood why mom had been listening to Joni for so long. I experienced my first real brushes with independence, loneliness, and heartbreak and suddenly realized how desperately I needed all of Joni’s songs on my ipod. I was homesick and wanted my Mommy so Joni was the next best thing. Her songs were beautiful and heartbreaking and meant so much now that I was actually listening to them and singing along with the understanding that came with life experience. My mom had been onto something great for years and I had no idea what I was missing.

We learn such amazing things from our mothers even if you can’t always agree with her taste in music. I learned sensitivity, love of seeing and experiencing beautiful things, and how difficult but important it is to keep reinventing yourself when life isn’t going your way. When we were kids, my sister and I used to beg mom to draw pictures of ourselves doing whatever we wanted. She would draw me as a nurse, a ballerina (I’m glad that one didn’t work out) or as a chef (slightly more realistic) and we would fiercely color them in. I didn’t realize it until now, but she was illustrating the fact that we could be anything in the world and it did wonders to develop our imaginations and sense of adventure about life. I don’t pretend to be anywhere as good of an artist as Mom is, but she fostered that creativity in me from a young age and I’m endlessly thankful that she was interested in the arts and not sports.

Ok stop tearing up now, we also learned a lot of how not be from our mothers. Our conversation about Madmen reminded us that some of our mothers unknowingly smoke and drank during their pregnancies and if nothing else perpetuated ridiculously uncomfortable undergarments for wayyyyyy too long! Garter belts? Girdles? No thanks! But my thoughts about my own mother did make me think about how every one of the WAW ladies is a product of their mother somehow, good or bad. We are so happy for new momma Alex and new grandmother Joan and hope that soon we can have three generations of artists at a WAW, probably expect some finger painting!

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Tablecloth

This week the typical Wednesday was a late night Friday wine and painting get together at Donna’s house. This week’s conversation topics ranged from high school flour babies, to paint over or not to paint over unsatisfactory paintings, conceptualizing custom art and new WAW locations and inspirations. My background is not in anything remotely resembling art, but instead behavioral biology, marine science, ecology and what have you. My best friend, Gina, and her mom, Rita, introduced me to the WAW girls and they have helped me become a bit more in tune to my creative side.

One of the best parts of this weekly meet up is the fact that I am challenged to think and work beyond what I normally do. This week was no exception. Joan explained to me the match-game that is involved with art. The way she described the relationship that one has with their art can sometimes lead to needing to step away from the piece you were working on and coming back to it later on. As you forget the ideal you have created for your painting you are left with the art itself without the preconceived notions. Appreciate the creative process for what it is and forgetting what it “should be”. 

"Paint Your Colors!"-We often end up painting to match our outfits

Personally, my inspirations are just all over the place, I’ll be honest. I love making lists, so I have compiled a short list of my top inspirations for not just art at WAW, but also for style, home décor and general everyday living!

-    -Yellow. My absolute favorite color and something that makes me smile

-    -Open air organized bookshelves, When I have my own house I am going to have a kitchen and library like Donna’s. It looks like a perfect cutout from a Williams Sonoma catalog.

-    -Cardigans and dresses, I own more dresses than a J.Crew store. I swear. Ask Gina.

-    -Science. Perhaps you may have expected this one, but it really does. Ecology, behavioral biology, marine science, all of it. Oh and while I am add it, I would like to add David Attenborough, Sylvia Earle, Kate Spade and Emily Post.

-   -Entertaining. Whether it is for afternoon tea, a date in library for studying, a proper dinner or a Stella after work. Since moving home from Salve, I almost never turn down an opportunity to meet up with the people that I love.

I am currently reading:

-          The Stuff That Never Happened, By: Maddie Dawson

http://www.randomhouse.com/book/165606/the-stuff-that-never-happened-by-maddie-dawson

-          The New York Times. My paper of choice. Nothing else will do.

-          Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America, By: Ted Floyd.

For my new job at The Audubon Society I bought a field guide that comes with a 587 bird call DVD. http://smithsonianbirdsofnorthamerica.com/

A Few Stores I Follow On Etsy:

-     MilesOfLight

Modern Nature & Botanical Photographic Prints

I could literally buy everything in this shop. It captures everything I love nature and simple beauty.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MilesOfLight

-     CritterVille

Sculpture that loves you back

Take a look at this little guy! The behavior of each animal comes alive: http://www.etsy.com/listing/95177189/sprightly-mouse-bronze-sculpture-7-and-a

-      focuslinear

Original Rustic Modern Paintings on Reclaimed Wood

I love everything about his work. One day I will buy a set and use them as a headboard or above my couch.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/95807777/modern-design-tree-ring-paintings-set-of?ref=af_new_item

Take a look at the pictures from this week’s WAW and the new paintings up on Etsy!

Art in progress

An empty bottle? It wasn't us!

Flantastic!

But wait, there's more....

Check out Joan's sauerkraut recipe!

1 lg. bag sauerkraut, rinsed extremely well and drained.  3 stalks celery, strings removed and sliced very thinly, 1 shallot sliced thin (or scallions) , 1 red pepper (or green, orange, yellow) sliced thinly.   Mix approximately 1/4 cup sugar to any type white vinegar, equal amount, until dissolved, taste, add olive oil to your preferred ratio, whisk, taste, season with black pepper.  Pour over sauerkraut mixture.  Works great in large ziplock, and let sit for at least a day, can be made a couple of days in advance.  Toss bag to distribute sauce every time you open fridge door.   

White is a bossy color

     Wine Art Wednesday is my favorite night of the week. I have a set time devoted to sit down, unwind from a busy day, chat with fabulous women, paint, and of course EAT! Friends, food and art definitely makes a happy life.  Let me take this time to introduce myself. I'm Jocelyn. I graduated from Houghton College, don't expect anyone to have heard of it, in New York with a B.A. degree in Studio Art and Art Education. I am now a full time Fine Arts teacher at a private elementary and middle school. I teach not only art, but music/drama to 500 students. While I love music and theater, my real passion is in art. 
      What inspires me? A vast amount of things - textures, 18th and 19th century architectural design, photography, bright colors, music, things international, florals, and studying other artists, especially my friends. Like the other WAW members, I enjoy looking on Etsy, but I am more of a Pinterest and blog girl. I love blogs, especially art teacher blogs.  It presents the wonderful opportunity to learn and share from art educators across the country.  The same with pinterest, I have boards from cuisine to wedding inspirations (and I'm not even close to being engaged!Ha!) but I love looking at pictures, getting different ideas and keeping them all organized in one spot. It's genius! 
      This week's WAW host for the evening was Joan, who is one of the most interesting, exciting, and creative women I know.  She made a delicious dinner ~ Moroccan chicken with cilantro, figs, shallots, lemons and almonds with a side of rice and green beans. Gabrielle brought an array of exciting cheeses, Italian sharp, Smoky Bacon Cheddar and Strawberry Chardonnay Cheddar, crackers, salami, and sun dried tomatoes. Donna made a light and refreshing ambrosia for dessert. All I have to say to that is YUMM-O.  I am so spoiled on WAW. I'm always guaranteed an amazing meal. 

      Once dinner is finished, we pour another glass of wine....or two, and begin the process of painting. I love seeing everyone's creativity and the process they go through. Rita suggested that one should always prime a canvas with a color because white is too great of a contrast.  "White is a bossy color." ~ Joan.  WAW conversations are always across the board ~ food, art, travel, tv shows, men, work, relationships....sometimes we get a little OCD. A chunk of conversation was NYC. What shows to see, where to eat, how to get around, etc. Joan, Donna and some of friends went to see Ghost the musical in the city on Tuesday. Great reviews from our WAW ladies, btw. I don't know about you, but I could go to the theater every day. I just love it. I wish life was like a musical. When you're having a bad day, don't just sit there and cry, sing about it! Maybe that's just me...but I think it would be amazing.                Now, to the art! 

 

Look for new items on Etsy and stay tuned for next week's WAW post! We're all created to be creative ~ so go do something today, perhaps start your own Wine Art Wednesday or Wine Art Whenever! 

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

This week Wine Art Wednesday was at Naty's house. For appetizers there was goat milk brie and cow milk brie. I liked the cow milk brie better, it was richer/creamier. I think that was the consensus for the night but it was interesting to compare based on animal milk. Joan brought a chilli dip with chips, so addictive. Naty made a delicious lentil stew, paired with Donna's cous cous, arugula salad and Italian bread. And chocolate covered strawberries for dessert thanks to Jocelyn!!

Every week we're going to profile a different artist of the group and this week it is me, Melanie. I am also a recent graduate of Fairfield University, like Gina. I studied printmaking and math. Odd combination...or so everyone tells me. Presently I am freelancing, digitizing some stuff at one company and doing some bone sculpture painting for a semi-famous artist! Every day it's something new on top of all the projects I dream up on my own. I literally made a list and said I wouldn't try anything new until I got the first thing on my list completed, that lasted, uhh...a few days. Currently I'm consumed by 3 quilts and illustrating a comic book for a friend.

Inspiration:

-MATH. I love geometry and patterns.

-Mandalas. See above.

-PINTEREST. I am addicted. It's made my never ending list of projects to do 10 times longer!

I am not an etsy addict like other members of the group, but I do LOVE blogs! So I thought I'd share a couple of my favorites.

Blogs:

Apartment Therapy (www.apartmenttherapy.com)

This site is so inspiring. Every post has something new and interesting. Many posts are apartment/home related as the title suggests. They frequently do house tours- I think it's so interesting to see how other people live, especially in different parts of the country, also some of the people that do house tours are artists or designers and then I learn more about them and their work.

Design*Sponge (www.designsponge.com)

Along similar lines of apartment therapy with tons of new inspiration, plus lots of DIY projects.

The Jealous Curator (www.thejealouscurator.com)

I don't even remember how I found this blog, but I love it! Each post features a different artist that the blog writer is jealous of. I have found out about some incredibly amazing artists from this blog!

IKEA Hackers (www.ikeahackers.net)

New find! The blog posts viewers “ikea hacks” or reuses or reinterpretations or new creations using items that can be bought at Ikea! Some of the posts are brilliant and so smart and creative and ingenious.

What I'm Cooking Now:

Natural easter egg dyes!! Can't wait to try them out!

And today I just started working on my indoor garden (I have a sunroom) with herbs for cooking! In another week or so I'm going to start working outside on my vegetable garden. I'm not an experienced gardener so this should be interesting!

What I'm Reading:

I am perpetually reading Anna Karenina by Tolstoy.

Boomerang by Michael Lewis -It's about the economy, but it's not all dry and boring. Written in a very easy to understand way, each chapter is about a different country, Iceland, Greece, Ireland, etc. And it's short, just over 200pgs. It has been very eye opening. I may be able to do complicated math equations but that doesn't mean I understand the economy (or business)! Though this book is more of a case of what went wrong and trying to understand why.

I reluctantly read The Hunger Games trilogy (I thought they were going to be another YA Twilight), but I was pleasantly surprised!

At the beginning of the New Year, I started a 52 books/year challenge. So far I am well ahead of where I should be.

-Melanie

Get to Know the Artists

Another great Wednesday has come and gone and we have plenty of great new art to show for it! This week WAW was at Rita's house where she made hearty lasagna paired with a green salad with jicama, nuts, and dried fruit by Joan, roasted veggies by Donna, spicy olives that make you cough, ciabatta bread, and finished off with more great Greek cookies from Melanie. In WAW world, WTF really stands for "Where's The Food?" so this week did not disappoint.

We covered everything from the slimming powers of Spanx shapewear, where to buy roasted duck, what is the most addictive drug, and all the other crazy thoughts bouncing around our brains. I would not want to be the recycling collector this week because we made a considerable dent in a considerable number of wine bottles.

 

We also decided to do something a little different with the blog and give you a chance to get to know the ladies or WAW through artist profiles. Each week we will feature a different WAW artist so you can learn about the inspiration and personality behind the artwork. Up first this week is me, Gina Caldwell, how great!

 

A little bit about me, I am a recent grad of Fairfield Univeristy where I studied communications, Asian studies, and sociology and spent my free time being a crazy environmental activist and part-time choir nerd. I just started a new job doing market research for financial companies but in my spare time I love making huge delicious messes in the kitchen as an aspiring chef, playing with fun kittens, and hanging out with crazy artists.

 

Inspiration:

-I love art featuring food because it is easy to relate to and fun to create. Eating is great and looking at delicious paintings won't make me fat!

-It's also very inspiring to work with such great artists so it pushes me to make my paintings more dynamic to keep up with them (especially Audrey who churned out painting after painting this week before anyone else had even picked their paint colors)

 

Favorite Etsy Artists:

Ellen's Originals-she is a local artist from Hamden, CT who does amazing pressed botanical art. I found one of her Queen Anne's Lace on velvet pieces in a store in Hamden and it made a perfect Christmas gift because it looks like a beautiful snowflake.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/EllensOriginals

HammerandI-This guy is all over my Christmas list! He makes starburst mirrors using the handles of flatware and I think they are so unique and beautiful. http://www.etsy.com/shop/HammerandI

LitaDesigns- And of course I have to include Lita jewelry since half of my jewelry collection was made by her! And I'm not just partial because my cute face can be found modeling a few of her designs....http://www.etsy.com/shop/LitaDesigns?ref=ss_profile (if the link doesn't work just search "Lita Designs" under shops. 

 What I'm cooking now:

-Baked brie is the new love of my life appetizer! It is surprisingly easy to make and very impressive looking. I've used this recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/party-starters/baked-brie-recipe/index.html before and it comes out rich and delicious and will make you look like a kitchen superstar.

 

What I'm Reading:

-Omnivore's Dilemma- a really important look into what we eat for dinner and how today's food production system has influenced us to eat some pretty questionable things.

-The Hunger Games (on audiobook)- I couldn't resist the hype!

 

So tune in next week to learn more about another great artist and look for the new paintings up on Etsy!

All About the Food

Artists:

Donna, Jessica, Rita, Gina, Gabrielle, Melanie

Menu:

Entre:  Salmon, String Beans, Couscous, Tomato Pie

Dessert: Bougatsa

Last night was Wine Art Wednesday, held at Donna's house. Her home is beautiful, it was built inside a barn that use to house a horse and buggy. Dinner was delicious! Donna made salmon, couscous, string beans and tomato pie! I have never had tomato pie before and usually I am not a fan of tomatoes but this was great!!! For dessert we ate a Greek dish, that can also be served for breakfast, called Bougatsa. Audrey, Donna, Naty and I learned how to make it Tuesday night in a Greek cooking class we took. Oh and there was also this trifle cheese and crackers which was very addictive!

We talked about a million different things. One of which was Gina's time spent in China. Jessica and Donna have also been to China, so they compared notes. Gina also mentioned a funny prank you can pull on a friend! Remove all the labels from their canned food. They won't know which can is which. Jessica and Donna told us about this cool website gofobo.com where you can find movie screenings to go to. Definitely going to try that out! 

Another wonderfully successful WAW!!!

<3 Melanie

What's in Your Fridge and What We had for Dinner

Artists for the Evening :

Joan, Donna, Rita, Jen, Robin, Melanie, Lauren, Gina, Naty
 

Menu :

Joan made pasta and roasted vegetables, escarole & beans, and glazed carrots.  Delicious!

Donna brought homemade gnocchi with pesto and sautéed tomatoes.  Scrumptious!

And for dessert … Greek cookies shaped like faces … one of Joan’s amazing creations.

While Joan bustled around her great vintage kitchen, the Wine Art Girls were treated to an electronic tour of Dubai and the Philippines.  Jen having just returned from there had cool pictures and fun stories about a smelly fruit called durian.  There were a few present that had had the fruit before and the descriptions ranged from: it smells like rotting flesh … no, it just smells like rotting garbage … to … oh, it doesn’t smell THAT bad!   And besides, once you get beyond the smell, it tastes really good.  I dunno.

During dinner Lauren talked about a great website: supercook.com where you can enter the ingredients you have on hand and it will suggest recipes that include just those ingredients

We also talked about Pinterest - brilliant for making mood boards and general imagery collections.  Careful, it will affect your shopping habits – as you become much more picky and expect everything to look just as beautiful.  (Oh, and also great for recipes, DIY tricks, and clever household/beauty fixes!)  Here's a few screenshots from Alex:

(new posts from people she is following)

(one of her boards; "Adventurage")

(a few of her boards...see, addicting)

Then Gina breezed in – having battled parkway traffic from Stamford to Cheshire – and she was sporting a gorgeous pair of dangly pearl earrings made by our favorite local jewelry designer “Lita Designs”.  Check out her shop on Etsy: LitaDesigns.

The conversation swung from classy earrings to squirrel problems.  As Joan as had one living in her basement for almost a week and just today Naty and her wielded brooms and rubber boots to try to scare it out (well, really Joan had to cook for WAW and needed to get to the basement fridge – Naty, you truly are a great friend!)…I digress.  After screaming for five minutes and running around the basement, they soon realized that it was actually just in the have-a-heart trap trying to get out – hahaha.  Joan’s husband was going to release it in a park the next morning.  Mission accomplished!

We discussed what to do with old brushes.  

Source: google.com via Lillygrace on Pinterest

All artists have them – they are mangy, hard, nasty, scruffy looking things and what are we supposed to do with them??  You can’t just throw them away.  Well…you should make little sculptures out of them.  Construct a face out of a molding material and affix it to the ferrule so that the bristles become the hair of the figure.

Jen did a painting of a durian and then kidded about how fun it would be to have a scratch & sniff painting.

We talked a lot about the business end of WAW … how we can keep this phenomenal concept going and still get the little jobs done that are required to run an Etsy shop and Blog, plus all the backend administration like shipping and budgeting.  It’s easy to cook great food, get together with terrific friends, and then spend the evening painting, talking, figuring out life, and laughing together.  But there are the little behind-the-scenes jobs that keep the heart of WAW beating and we’re trying to work out the bugs so that we can bring delightful paintings and a fun blog to our faithful followers.

I talked about a wonderful, life-changing book (yes, worth it!) which has been published by one of WAW’s most generous supporters.  The book is called “The Game of Life and How To Play It”.

Its underlying theme is maintaining a positive outlook on life and believing that the “good” in life will happen.  Truly a gem of a book.

So we finished the evening with a number of successful paintings, a bit of wine missing from each bottle, laughter, conversation, and a sense of well being.  Food, Art & Friends … now how great is that?

<3 Rita

Cannoli. That's All I Need to Say.

So sad...possibly my last Wine Art Wednesday for awhile...I am 27 weeks (and entering my third trimester) tomorrow!!!  Eeep!  And the two-hour drive twice a week is starting to take its toll.  I might just have to Skype from NJ to be involved every week.  Good thing it was a great one for me to end on (for the time being)!!!  

Artists: 

Alex (that's me!), Audrey, Denise, Donna, Jen, Joan, Jocelyn, Lauren, & Marjon!

Menu:

 

Appetizers:

Guacamole (Joan)

Artichoke & Cheese Dip (Joan)

& Chips, of course! (Thanks Jocelyn!)

 

Mains:

Two types of delicious Lasagna (Audrey)

 

Desserts:

Cannolis and Zeppoli/Creme Puffs from Del Prete in Bridgeport, CT

(Thank you SO MUCH Lauren & Marjon!)

(Food photos are always taken AFTER we dig-in! ;)

 

 

And it was definitely an evening of fine quotes:

"It shouldn't be Google.  It should be Ask Donna...she knows it all!" ~ Joan...and I think she's definitely right!

"Luck of the bottle" ~ Marjon telling us that the last glass of wine from the bottle is called this in the Netherlands, where she is from.  (I wonder if I took the last sip from the bottle if that luck would be good for the baby or me?!)

"I will try anything...twice."  ~ Me  "Sometimes the first is a fluke." ~ Lauren, as usual, knowing exactly how to finish my thought when I can't even think straight!  (And, so very true!)

"The kid in you should have seen it...haha, wait, there IS a kid in you!" ~ Jen to pregnant me.

"Wait, Johnny Depp is...available?!" ~ Jen, when we got on to the subject of celebrity divorces due to the recent news explosion surrounding Seal and Heidi...so sad.  Joan and I thought they were going to make it!  I was shocked by Ashton and Demi too, but what do I know?!  Because I certainly don't know any of these people!!!  Then, "I'd like him as a son-in-law!" ~ Audrey (already happily married, you see!)

"You get to that weird middle stage in art where you hate it...it's like middle school."  ~ Jocelyn on the facts of art.  Whenever you are painting, drawing, whatever, just prepare yourself for that middle time period of BLAH.  We all know it!

"OH...MY...GOD." ~ me, after eating a very-illegal-to-her-dairy-free-diet-but-so-freaking-worth-it cannoli.  Seriously, Del Prete, I am glad I live in NJ...that was heavenly!  (At least for the part that I was eating it...)

Okay, apologies, that was a lot of quotes and I bet there were many more that I was laughing too hard to write down.  How about a few process photos?

(Think it's time for a new tablecloth?  It works so well, but the colors always clash with our paintings!  Maybe we should paint it?!)

We also talked about the New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF), which Lauren is exhibiting (our favorite) HopeClips and Donna is visiting to see what's new this week.  (I told Lauren that I HAVE to remember to bring my HopeClip to the hospital when I go in to labor...the nurses will LOVE it and how perfect for hospital gift shops?!  You can lie back comfortably and get all of your hair out of your face in a chic way!  Now, to remember it when I am pulling out my hubby's own hair that day...)  I digress, sorry...we talked about NYIGF because if you are running a booth, you have about 30 seconds to sell your product to the buyers.  It is such a huge show, that buyers usually run through with a list and if you are new, you've got that 30 seconds their stride takes them to get past your booth.  (I volunteered with Lauren one year and she taught me SO much about running a business.  That girl is not only the sweetest, most intelligent, quick-witted girl...she is a wonderful entrepreneur!  Take notes, dear reader!)  She and Donna (who has been to many trade shows as a Buyer) both agreed that you have to really know your customer.  Which probably explains why we all want each others' paintings by the end of each night!

Audrey was squirting paint on to her canvas (to prime it/put down the base coat) and I loved how it looked on its own!

We said "let it dry (for a month) and then MOMA will buy it!"  Joan added "just say you sneezed!  It'll be worth millions!"  I guess it was our little commentary on how art is always in the eye of the beholder and is really like wine.  You have to look/try a lot of different things to find out what really makes you happy / makes you feel great!

Speaking of making you happy...Pretty Woman and My Big Fat Greek Wedding are movies that we all agreed make us happy.  If you turn on your TV to see what's on and you find one of those, you will inevitably watch it from whatever point it is at...and laugh...and smile...and be happy!  Life is good.

One of the girls started laughing and told us the story of finding lumps in her breasts when she was a teenager.  "Laughing?" you ask?  Yes, because she was watching TV when something prompted her memory, maybe a news brief or a part of a show, and she remembered that her girlfriends told her that you are supposed to check your own breasts for lumps in between appointments.  (Read here for how to do it ladies, it is important!)  So she did...in her living room, while she was watching TV, and found quite a few!  After telling her mother, they went straight to the Doctors' office and then in to surgery and had some removed.  She was laughing because it all happened so suddenly and all while these two girlfriends were traveling all over Europe, and she had to stay home because she couldn't afford the trip.  She said "now I'll have a story for them when they get back!"  And also, still can't believe how quickly she was rushed in to surgery without tests at that time.  Now she knows that they are actually fibrous cysts.  This made two of the other girls laugh and they looked at each other and laughed harder realizing that they were thinking the same thing!  They both had them as well, and there first times at the OB-GYN (yes, both of them and again, as teens) told their Doctors that they had Cystic fibrosis and both Doctors had quickly corrected them and luckily, explained to them the difference so they didn't make the same mistake again!  What are the chances?  The world really is smaller than we realize and we all have so much in common and share experiences.

Okay, I have truly typed my fingers off today!  If you made it this far, then WOO!  You are seriously a true Wine Art Wednesdays fan and it is time for you to start your own weekly session with your best friends!  Email me at WineArtWednesdays@gmail.com if you have any questions on how to get started.  We love to share the passion and fun!

<3 Alex and the Wine Art Girls

P.S. We discussed future painting ideas.  Maybe a poll is in order?  We thought of sushi, lobster, coffee-themed, personalized paintings, and a few more.  Any ideas, readers/fellow bloggers and artists?  And also, please forgive us if our timing is a bit off in the next few weeks.  Since I won't be in CT to take part, it may be that the blog isn't live by Friday and/or the paintings aren't listed by Monday, but we will do our best!  To us, it is more about being together than anything else and we hope to not disappoint any fellow believers!!!

...the paintings...

 (Most of these will be posted for sale on our Etsy.)

(Some of these are not quite finished!)

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!