illustration friday
for the past couple of weeks i have created submissions to illustration friday. it's a way to experiment with media that i don't ordinarily use (i'm dabbling with digital media). each week illustration friday e-mails a topic and there you go...create whatever seems appropriate and send the link in to their website. i love seeing how others, from all over the world, interpret the same topic. this week the topic is "glamour" and i illustrated my favorite fashion designer's latest purse design. click here to see my submission. it's certainly not fabulous, but it is fun to make, and that's what it's all about.

p u s s y w i l l o w s

it's just delightful to happen upon little gems in the garden this time of year. i started a french pussywillow , salix caprea, from a cutting, purchased from the northwest flower + garden show a few years ago, and now it is a full fledged tree. it really needs to be coppiced so i can harvest the pussy branches more easily from year to year. for basket making i have found that coppicing willows, red-twig dogwoods and eucalyptus make for nice long straight rods. eucalyptus is such a ferocious grower that coppicing keeps it to a manageable size and you can enjoy the juvenile foliage for flower arranging.

this peony is just a reminder of sun and bloom to come. the need for sun and flora this time of year in the pacific northwest is extreeeeme! i was happy to see my camelia sasanqua, witchhazel + winter jasmine blooming. thank goodness the days are getting longer!