Christine Sibley's Work Continues!

On Saturday, looking out the window, I wasn't inspired to do much of anything around the house and with the rain we had, yard work was out of the question. Every few months I get an idea for an adventure so we headed out in the pours of rain to a small town just south of us called Fairburn. Last week I posted about an artist Christine Sibley, sharing with you a reproduction of one of her pieces called Spring. An artist who worked with Christine just happens to have a studio a few miles away so we decided to go and see some of his work.

This guy doesn't advertise and he doesn't have a website so that he can connect with his clients. He does place work with just a few unique garden centers in the southeast but generally he makes his business by word of mouth.

Carlos Montano is the owner of Casa Montano - the artist's studio. Carlos produces fine and very unique garden statuary and other items. He painstakingly creates a mold to be able to create the work. A wall of molds

A mold for the top of a birdbath
The finished product

Here is a garden ornament inspired by an Italian mask that he made ito a mold. I purchased one of these that had a slight stain added. Here is a garden bench he had just completed. He has about 30 molds of European-style fireplace mantles that he makes for some of the McMansions in the Atlanta area. He also does restoration of antique statuary.

Below he is applying a finish to an intaglio.

I bought the Mother and Child pictured top and center. Carlos made this from an Italian antique statuary (click on the photo to enlarge).

If you are ever down near Fairburn it's worth stopping in to meet Carlos and see what he might be making. It is also kind of fun to meet some of his other clients. An interesting client was leaving when we arrived. She has just built a house made of clay (adobe) in north Georgia. It is built into the side of a mountain and she purchase Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall along with the elements Earth, Water Air and Fire as art for her home. Happy adventures!

Mimi Might Be Coming Home!

My daughter called to say that she might be coming home in the next couple of weeks! We are very excited and this will mean it is time for AN OUTDOOR CONCERT!!! We are so lucky to have a musician in the family. Usually when Mimi comes home, we pick a night to invite friends and neighbors to come over before the sun goes down and we have a back yard concert. We light up all the torches, bring out the lawn chairs, lots of hors d'oeuvres, beer and wine, then sit back while Mimi performs while we all relax under the stars. When Mimi was growing up her piano teach held quarterly musicales and I always thought of them as simply magical. Her teacher, Ms. Lissa brought in The Peachtree Trio (a woodwind group), a soprano and tenor from the ASO Chorus, and then of course Ms. Lissa would be the pianist for the evening. These informal music experiences through the years have provided our family with some very special memorable events. I always tell Mimi that she has given us the opportunity to see and hear some beautiful scenes of life that we might not have seen without her.

fishing float lighting...

I was intrigued by this light fixture...

It was huge, and strung with blown glass fishing floats...

It was in a house, in a local tour of homes...

Many murals were on the walls

..and on the chairs

...and in the bathrooms

And behind the cooktop...

I did love this collection of tropical flowers and fruits....
More interesting tropicals...

Great ceiling details...

out back overlooking the river...

Come drink the koolaid with me.

Any Sunshine?

We just watched the weather report and more rain with possible storms are on the way. It rained most of the week and I have been hoping for gorgeous weather this weekend so that I could get out in the yard and play in the dirt. While we need the rain - I personally need the sunlight and hope we get to see the sun sometime soon. Maybe this means we should use the weekend to stimulate the economy and just go shopping! I would but I'm so ready to go outside, work in the garden and enjoy the flowers.

UPDATE! My husband and I just decided to go on an adventure (my favorite word for exploring new things). I hope we have a story to tell when we return.

The Sculptor Welcomes Spring

A decade or so ago, I helped found a garden club. It was a great garden club and in the process of working with the organization, I had the opportunity to meet many famous and some not so famous but incredible Georgia gardeners, Master Gardeners and horticulturalists. Many of these folks have appeared on Erica Glasener's The Gardener's Diary through the years and one such gardener is Greg Luna. Greg has a business and you can visit his website at Luna's Lilies. Maybe I'll share more about Greg in another post but for now let me say that he had a gorgeous sculpture in his backyard (okay, the backyard itself is unbelievable-really!) and when I saw it I was totally moved by the work. It was a woman's face that he had mounted on a tree. When I asked him about it he said that it was one of Christine Sibley's sculptures.

Shortly thereafter I was visiting the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and on the side of one of the fountains I saw a woman's face. Immediately I recognized the style and after inquiring discovered that it was another Christine Sibley sculpture.

About four years ago I was visiting The Society Gardner in Macon and I spotted not one but two faces that seemed so familiar. After getting a little closer I realized right away that it was another Christine Sibley face. I talked to the associate at the garden shop and sure enough they had two faces - one representing fall and one representing spring and they both were for sale! My sister said "I want fall." and I said "great, because I want spring."

Spring marks the entrance to my house and I have been waiting to share her with you. I hope you enjoy seeing this beautiful work of art. I just love how the veil of winter is falling away from her face as the flowers are emerging around her. Happy Spring!

A piece of peace in the Keys...ahhhh.

Indeed...There is a little hidden jewel on the island of islamorada

~ halfway between key Largo and Key West~

The Moorings Village tries to recreate a bit of what mass development with its concrete high rises, noise and neon signs have taken away.

The owners recognize that Peace is becoming scarce....and they are trying to preserve it on their 18 acres of tropical heaven.

Eighteen restored 1930s cottages some newly built to look and feel old

are discreetly hidden on what was originally a coconut plantation estate.

The cottages are all self contained with kitchens, french doors and wraparound verandas.

Old black and white photographs and faded navigation charts hang on the walls...

idealic white sanded beaches frame the resort's 18 acres

The cottages exist within the verdant canopy of palms and bouganvillea

and ginger

affording more privacy...more nature.

The massuese hut....

it IS still a resort, after all

Let your mind wander....

your soul soothe...

Find this bit of paradise here.

Unless I find it first

Key west.....

Go figure...

Photos: Ken Hayden

Find the story here.

A Spring Wedding

Over the weekend, the eldest son of our next door neighbors of eighteen years got married. The wedding was held at a beautiful country church in rural Georgia.

I just loved the stained glass windows.

The family gathered outside before the wedding for a few photos. The groom is a fireman and was married in his dress uniform. His dad is a newly retired police officer and the groom's brother works for the sheriff's department. Truly a family of public servants.

My good friend Judy (mother of the groom) wasn't nervous at all - NOT!

Then we saw the bride come out for photos - she was looking a bit nervous.

It was the most tender moment during the ceremony when the grandfather of the groom put his arm around his wife. So much love in this family.

The cake was covered with roses.
So where did the time go? The groom was playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles yesterday and now these kids are grown and starting lives of their own. Best wishes and congratulations.