Noni and Pa's 55th Wedding Anniversary

 Who? James and Joan Schneller 

What? Their 55th Wedding Anniversary

When? Friday August 10, 2012

Where? Among the flowers of their beautiful garden

Why? Because they deserve it!

Friday August 10th we celebrated with my grandparents their 55th Wedding Anniversary. They are a great example to every married couple and have set the standard very high for Paul and I. Although Noni (my grandma) claims Pa (my grandpa) barely made it to their 55th year, she is kidding of course, I know that their love for each other grows more everyday. My grandpa is still a practicing Pediatrician in the Tacoma area and it is always funny to me when I call Noni on his day off and she tells me she "doesn't know what she will do when he retires." Pa is an avid gardner and his garden is gorgeous! he works on it endlessly and although he hires helpers to come over and work along side him the one thing he will not let ANYONE including Paul do is mow his lawns. Noni rolls her eyes when he is out there riding around in the dark with his mower headlights on trying to finish.

A little bit about each of them:

Noni is an amazing pianist she can play anything but some of her favorite tunes are "Memories" and "Sentimental Journey." She plays the oregon for her church on Sunday mornings, and although she has been doing it for years you would think it was her very first performance every time for the amount of fussing that goes on right before.

Noni loves animals especially squirrels (unfortunately for Pa) she feeds probably the entire Lakewood population of squirrels. I will never forget the day I saw one take Pa's newly planted flower bulb up a tree while he witnessed it. He still lets Noni feed them though.

Noni is an insane political science guru... she is republican and is proud of it. I have witnessed her almost pulling politicians through the TV she gets so worked up. That is nothing compared to her love of the Seattle Mariners though especially in their golden years, you know Edgar Martinez and all. I remember I would be swimming in my grandparents pool and I could hear Noni outside screaming at the top of her lungs at the game.

Pa on the other hand loves Art. Pa used to pick me up from school every Wednesday and we would go to the local art gallery to see what was new. Pa like I said works endlessly on his garden planting new flowers, putting in walkways and fountains and the result is gorgeous. 

Pa is the wisest person I know. I can always go to him for advice and he always has the answer... If he doesn't he prays for me and that means the world. Noni and Pa are my official prayer team and I always add to their list on Sundays of things to keep in mind and together we watch Gods plans unfold as prayers are answered and denied. 

Pa has taught me a few things that I will never ever forget, he always says don't make important decisions after 6:00pm. He tells me all the time that "I think well" and it gives me my faith in myself back when times are rough. He is endlessly trying to talk me into the Flu Shot (being a doctor and all) and I think this year I will listen to him as last year I completely lost my voice for three weeks this last flu season. 

Noni and Pa really are the ones that raised me and gave me confidence in myself... now that I am married they are the best example of marriage that I can find anywhere and I hope that Paul and I will someday be able to follow their example and set a standard like their own for the generations that follow.

Love you Noni and Pa!

Happy Anniversary...

Larsen Lake Blueberry Farm

It's old news I moved to Bellevue! now I am beginning to wander around our new city to get aquainted. This evening Paul and I decided to go blueberry picking at Larsen Lake Blueberry Farm. We had so much fun and it reminded me a lot of hanging out on the farm... (made me a little less homesick) We ended up picking about 5 pounds of blueberries which doesn't sound like a lot but really it's a ton. I already made a dozen blueberry-cinnamon muffins and it doesn't even look like I put a dent in our bucket, they turned out great though. (I know this because Paul is actually eating them)

Check out the recipe for Blueberry-Cinnamon Muffins at Southern Living.com

Here are some pictures from our Larsen Lake adventure...

The baby bird that was in my bush

the cute blonde guy that follows me everywhere

I love that Paul will actually do this stuff with me, what an amazing husband!

Another recipe I want to try is the Blueberry Bee Pollen Raw Vegan Smoothie... It sounds weird but could possible taste good and be good for you. 

Fall Trend Must Haves

It's almost that time of year, and now is the perfect time to start searching for the "non-picked over fall trends" here are a few things I am hoping to stumble across this year... especially the gold fish umbrella.

Accidental Art: The works of Maria Seoane

Here is a little peak at Maria Seoane's Artwork. Her show was amazing... she has such a fun personality and is such a great person to work with. At this time Maria is working on pieces of similar nature to those shown below however, she is very interested in doing commission work. If you are at all interested please do contact me.

The following is my review of Maria's Artwork it is NOT her artist statement although it is based off conversation I have had with her.

Maria Seoane’s work has an alluring style that is consistent throughout all of her pieces. Her soft color tones and smooth figures tend to illicit a sense of tranquility however, the narrative within each piece tells that of a different nature. 

         Maria’s ceramic sculptures gained the name “Accidental Art” because they were not preconceived images. Rather, they were born from trial and error much like we all are throughout our lives. This idea is similar to the process of making ceramics. A piece of clay is selected kneaded, beaten, added too and taken away from, fired and glazed until it is something beautiful.

         In each one of Maria’s pieces a stage of life is being addressed whether it is a beginning, ending, a moment of desperation or of peaceful relaxation. One can easily pin these moments from the expressions the figures carry on their faces and through their posture. These pieces are unique and a clever way of picturing life’s brutality along side it’s most precious moments. 

"Pleading and Bargaining"

"Spanish Stairs"

"Ernesto"

"Letting Go"

Well thats all for now so in the words of Maria's incredibly cute granddaughter Lila.... "happy art day"


MARIA IS WANTING TO DO COMMISSIONED ART WORK SO IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE HER TO MAKE... send me an e-mail @ ashley.cook97@gmail.com

Tribute to an Old Friend: ARI

If you know me then you know Ari. I say that because Ari was my everything from 7th grade until sophomore year of college. Ari and I were a team! we didn't go to big fancy horse shows but the ones we did go to we cleaned up. Ari was what you refer to as a mutt he was a mix of three different types of horses...

PERCHERON

SWEDISH WARMBLOOD

THOROUGHBRED

So I just called him a warmblood to be fancy and to not hurt feelings...

Quirks

Pigeon Toed - It sounds funny, and it looked funny. When Ari would walk his feet would not travel one in front of the other they would fling out to the sides which looked ridiculous from the front but at horse shows some judges mistook it for a beautiful dressage like movement, when only seeing it from the side. (this proved to work in our advantage) 

Bottomless Pit - Ari could eat anything and everything in his path. Taking Ari on trail rides was always challenging because he would try to eat and walk at the same time... eating the tops of tall grass, branches that came up in-front of him, he even figured out that the other horses had our lunches in their saddle bags and figured out how to get his nose into the pack and eat them.

Stories of Ari

Under the carport and down the road
My mom is one tough lady and honestly I have always been really afraid of her. She likes everything clean, organized and perfect. Well, one day I was in Ari's stall brushing him and I had just propped the stall door shut but it wasn't latched. My dog Maddy (who had to always be with me) pushed the door open with her nose. I was brushing Ari's tail so when he jolted out the door I was so afraid that my mom would see the loose horse and be upset that I grabbed his tail and was drug all the way down the barn isle, and across the driveway... I finally let go and he ran under our car port and down our long drive way. My mom saw and ran to help me catch him, the only thing that would help was a bucket full of grain (Ari with his sweet tooth and all) and we finally got the halter over his head. IT WAS A MUST SEE PRETTY FUNNY especially with Ari's funny pigeon toed run.


Western Ari 
I have a twin brother Andy, who also loves horses, he always had a soft spot for Ari (everyone in my family did) one day he said he wanted to try to ride Ari Western. For those of you who don't know, a western saddle is a lot different then an english saddle because 1) it is MUCH heavier 2) it has a back cinch that tightens around the horses girth. I told Andy this was ok but to not tighten the back synch... I knew Ari wasn't used to it and that it would scare him (or at least he would use it as an excuse to throw a tantrum) Long story short Andy grinned at me and tightened the cinch... Ari didn't do anything but I could see every muscle in his body tighten up. Andy said "see I told you he is fine" and I laughed a little. Andy jumped on and gave Ari a kick (which I also told him to not do) Ari jumped as high in the air as he possible could and did a complete 360 Andy when flailing off the side of him... and that ended that no more western saddle, EVER.


"Amaxophobia" or the fear of vehicles (lol)
Ari was deathly afraid of tractors. I could not figure out why for the longest time. He had a fear of water and we worked through that, riding over and over again in mud puddles and ponds until he finally didn't think twice about it. The mystery of the tractor though I could not figure out. Until one day I caught my amazing (sarcastically of course) father driving the tractor up to his pasture with the bucket raised. Ari penned in a small paddock was coming unglued. I thought he was going to run through the fence... this all to explain our most exciting horse show, where Ari spotted the small facilities tractor and went ballistic in the small arena pack full of other horses and riders. Needless to say he never got over the fear of tractors poor guy.


The worlds sincerest hugger, biggest kisser, and bestest friend
I had to part with my friend when I was a sophomore in College... I was not able to give him the attention he needed while I was working, going to school and taking care of two other horses. I ended up returning him to his original owner who then retired him to a summer school for kids. (he needed this because without exercise he would EASILY get morbidly obese it was the percheron in him I think.


Ari Extras:

• Ari LOVED hugs he would always put his head right in my arms and lean into me
• Loved Dorito Chips any and all flavors
• He sounded like a girl horse when he whinnied
• He had BIG FEET and let me paint his hooves with twinkle toes (glitter paint) 
• Did not play well with other horses, but had a soft spot for foals 
• Hated Dogs (most likely due to my blue heeler puppy that attached herself to his tail, another long story)
• Never bit me EVER
• Endured the worst hair cut EVER
• Followed me without the lead rope
• Knew tricks like come, stay, and bow
• Endured long stories and countless hours of singing poor guy

I am not sure if Ari is still alive and I don't really want to know, I always said I didn't want to be there for that I knew it would kill me. All I know is that if I ever have a daughter and she asks me for a pony I will Say "absolutely not you can have a Swedish Warmblood, Percheron, Thoroughbred,... horse."

In Memory of my best buddy Ari

Girls Only!!!

I had a wake up call this last week... I went to an interview for an internship and of course I got dressed up. You know... high heels and a pretty blouse. I was shocked when I sat down and the interviewer grabbed my resume crossed off anything that insinuated receptionist and told me that any idiot could transfer a phone and type on a computer. She said "never wear heels here again and loose the nice outfit" oh and your hired. I was excited but shocked!


On the drive home I thought to myself, I really sort of set myself up for that one however, I am glad that she acted in this way it made me feel more valued that I was being given an important opportunity and not one that just any "idiot" as she so blatantly put it could do.


This reminds me of a few things first, coming up at the Seattle Art Museum beginning October 11, 2012 through January 13, 2013....

Women Artist from the centre Pompidou, Paris

I am so excited for this exhibition to see some of the most influential and great female artist of all time. Really I don't know much about each individual artist and I will take this opportunity to learn more. I find exhibitions like this so motivational.


Second, while I'm on the subject I just looked up the painting "Horse Fair" which is a personal favorite to see who it was done by and it was done by a female artist Rosa Bonheur.... (side tracked I know)

On the other hand...


My new addiction of the Series Downton Abbey reminds me to be careful what you wish for... I know that it is great that women can run around in jeans and a baseball hat and no one thinks twice and don't get me wrong "thats the way it should be!" but every time I watch this series I find myself wishing that it were still the norm to wear gorgeous dresses like these...

well here's to female empowerment... and remember to mark your calendar for October 11th to visit the Seattle Art Museum.

This is the blurb from the LA Times in regards to the bold all girl show:

"Beginning with early 20th century paintings by French artist Suzanne Valadon and ending with works by up-to-the-minute figures such as Japan's Mariko Mori, Switzerland's Pipilotti Rist and England's Rachel Whiteread, "elles" will offer an international array of paintings, sculptures, installations, drawings, photographs, prints, videos, furniture and architectural models.

Visitors who stroll through thematic and chronological sections spread across two floors of the museum will find a mixture of mainstream art, functional design and feminine attitude. Niki de Saint Phalle's towering sculpture of a monstrous bride will be there, along with a sleek aluminum cabinet by Janette Laverrier, a soft-edge abstract painting by Helen Frankenthaler and a Sanja Ivekovic video of a woman cutting holes in a black veil that covers her face."

Click here to see the rest >>> La Times

So what do you think? I think this is fantastic, but would love to hear your thoughts...

"what is art?"... Quality vs. Quantity

First and foremost these are just my thoughts some may not agree and thats ok but here is what I think about the question... What is art? 

Over the last few months I have faced the age old question time and time again..."what is art?" and I now have my answer.

"art is any form of self expression of high quality, consistency, and portrays a clear message (even if that message is to remain unclear) "

qual·i·ty

noun

Character with respect to fineness, or grade of excellence: food of poor quality; silks of fine quality. High grade; superiority; excellence: wood grain of quality.

con·sist·en·cy

noun  

Steadfast adherence to the same principles, course, form, etc. There is consistency in his pattern of behavior. Agreement, harmony, or compatibility, especially correspondence or uniformity among the parts of a complexthing: consistency of colors throughout the house.

To me art is any form of self expression... it is not mass produced (even though I thoroughly believe Mr. Warhol's work is art) to gain a profit ie. Chihuly and Kinkade, but rather an outlet for people to express themselves and be understood.

Quality plays a huge role in whether or not something can be called art. To me quality in the everyday sense means it is well built, well designed, and overall well executed. To me the only way to gain good quality in a piece of artwork is TIME and more time. This is how good artwork is weeded out of the crowd. It is plain as day the painting, sculpture, or whatever it may be that has time involved and even an attachment to the artist. Obviously a piece you have worked on for a day versus ten years will look completely different and this fortunately is very clear to any viewer.

I would like to take a moment to recognize art work that I feel deserves the title as such click on the artist name to view more of their information... there is:

Artist Billy Pappas  

Artist Tip Toland

Artist Julia Aristides

Well there you have it just my opinion...

What do you think the definition of art is... post your thoughts...