The result thus far has been a visual journey, influenced by my love for nature, fascination with art, and enthusiasm for creating.
My love for nature, I guess you could say, begins with gardening. And while I am not an expert gardener, I revel in almost any opportunity to photograph my garden in all its various seasons, sharing some tips along the way. In that spirit, you might enjoy 3 Summer Flowers to Plant in Your Garden Now.
Occasionally I'll share a recipe utilizing the herbs or fruits grown in my garden, such as in the post From Garden to Table: Blueberry Pie.
My love of nature also extends to my Do It Yourself projects, most of which incorporate materials found in the natural world: DIY: Spring Wreath.
And in DIY: Autumn Hydrangea Wreath:
My fascination with art history has led me to write a few essays that explore some of my favorite artists of the Modern Art movement. Picasso and Primitivism: The Story Behind the Masks, is, by far, my most popular post. Who knew that after all these years, there could still be something of interest to say about Picasso?
While I am not a formally trained artist, I did take some Art History classes while attending Colorado State University, where I earned a Baccalaureate Degree in Cultural Anthropology with a minor in Religious Studies.
After college I continued to follow my interest in the history of art by taking additional classes at the graduate level, and also took fine art classes in ceramics, painting and screen printing.
My enthusiasm to create my own art in various formats and styles has encouraged me to teach myself collage, or as Picasso called it 'papier collé', and I regularly enter my work in a local biannual non-juried show. Here is one of my recent works, Two Women, No. 2, made from an antique photo frame, postage stamps, and cut-out figures from vintage books and newspapers:
As already mentioned, my passion for photography is one of the main reasons for starting Under The Plum Blossom Tree. Since then, that love has grown from taking pictures of my surroundings and everyday events, to teaching myself the art of the 'flat lay' photo style, as seen on my Instagram feed. With this style, I have enjoyed documenting my vintage home wares, usually embellished with fresh flowers.
This new photographic interest led me to initiate #collectandstyle, a hashtag project on Instagram. It is a place to post styled images of antique, vintage and modern home wares, and we welcome and encourage anyone that loves creating these kinds of images to post them there.
In my continuing effort to build community around the #collectandstyle hashtag, I have featured several talented photographers here on the blog, in a 'Monthly Favorites' series. It gives me great pleasure to share the stories behind their collections, their shared love for photography, and their personal interpretations of living a creative lifestyle.
I've also recently begun to write about the history of design, as it relates to my collection of vintage household items. In Design Spotlight: Vintage Berggren Ceramic Wall Hangings, I look into the creative lives of Audrey and Arthur Berggren:
And in Vintage Finds: Antique Brownfield & Son Chinoiserie Revival Pottery, I share the story of how I thrifted some beautifully patterned antique dishes, and subsequently discovered the fascinating story of the resurgence in interest in Chinoiserie (Chinese-styled) home decor in mid-nineteenth century Europe.
Major's Art Show, Eugene Oregon, 2018 - Juried |
As already mentioned, my passion for photography is one of the main reasons for starting Under The Plum Blossom Tree. Since then, that love has grown from taking pictures of my surroundings and everyday events, to teaching myself the art of the 'flat lay' photo style, as seen on my Instagram feed. With this style, I have enjoyed documenting my vintage home wares, usually embellished with fresh flowers.
This new photographic interest led me to initiate #collectandstyle, a hashtag project on Instagram. It is a place to post styled images of antique, vintage and modern home wares, and we welcome and encourage anyone that loves creating these kinds of images to post them there.
In my continuing effort to build community around the #collectandstyle hashtag, I have featured several talented photographers here on the blog, in a 'Monthly Favorites' series. It gives me great pleasure to share the stories behind their collections, their shared love for photography, and their personal interpretations of living a creative lifestyle.
I've also recently begun to write about the history of design, as it relates to my collection of vintage household items. In Design Spotlight: Vintage Berggren Ceramic Wall Hangings, I look into the creative lives of Audrey and Arthur Berggren:
And in Vintage Finds: Antique Brownfield & Son Chinoiserie Revival Pottery, I share the story of how I thrifted some beautifully patterned antique dishes, and subsequently discovered the fascinating story of the resurgence in interest in Chinoiserie (Chinese-styled) home decor in mid-nineteenth century Europe.
I am also actively developing my interior styling skills, having participated in Styling The Seasons, a monthly blog series devoted to styling a surface in your home to reflect what the month means to you and the promise that it holds. Started by Katy Orme of Apartment Apothecary and Charlotte of Lotts and Lots, it is no longer running, however I learned valuable lessons in this styling challenge that I continue to work on.
If you would like to know about me personally, I enjoy sharing stories about myself and my family; I have two children, Audrey and Takeo, and their dad James is the sometime editor of this blog.
Occasionally you'll find essays I've written about our family such as On Motherhood,
and Home is Where the HeART is: Thoughts on Art and Home,
and I'll feature some of our family travels, such as Camping at Newberry Caldera:
For 2018 I am on a journey of self discovery. I am enrolled in One Little Word, a year long on-line workshop, taught by designer, blogger and teacher Ali Edwards.
The premise of the class is to choose one word for the entire year to act as a guide and a tool for finding self awareness. Each month there is a new creative prompt which is designed to encourage the student to interact with their chosen word. My word for 2018 is 'BUILD' and I invite you to follow along as I make my way through the year and share the life-lessons I've learned along the way.
Did you know that I have an Etsy shop?
Vintage Tea Treasures is where you'll find classic, timeless and fun teatime china ware, hand picked by me. I offer the best quality bone china and porcelain from famous brands such as Royal Albert and Franciscan.
No matter if you are looking for a replacement piece, need something for a vintage tea party, or are a prop stylist looking for an interesting piece to add to your collection, there are plenty of choices in my shop. And if you use the code PLUMBLOSSOM10, you'll enjoy a ten percent discount off your order. Your purchase helps fund the various materials and supplies needed to run this blog, and I appreciate every single sale, review, and shop favorite.
Also new in 2018 is my acceptance into the Etsy Affiliate Program. What that means is that you will see the official Etsy banner in the sidebar and at the bottom of this blog. If you click on one of those links and make a purchase from an Etsy shop other than my own, I may earn a commission. On occasion I may write a blogpost that features Etsy shops I admire and those too are affiliate links and will be clearly labeled as sponsored. Thank you for your support.
Besides Vintage Tea Treasures and Instagram, as mentioned above, you can also find me on Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook.
An internet friend once left a comment on one of my blog posts, observing that I am 'living a well examined life… and beautiful as well.' That statement struck a chord with me because this blog has been just that - my own version of exploring the aesthetics of living. My vision from the beginning was to express, through the intersection of photos and words, the ways in which I stylistically interpret my own life.
and Home is Where the HeART is: Thoughts on Art and Home,
and I'll feature some of our family travels, such as Camping at Newberry Caldera:
For 2018 I am on a journey of self discovery. I am enrolled in One Little Word, a year long on-line workshop, taught by designer, blogger and teacher Ali Edwards.
The premise of the class is to choose one word for the entire year to act as a guide and a tool for finding self awareness. Each month there is a new creative prompt which is designed to encourage the student to interact with their chosen word. My word for 2018 is 'BUILD' and I invite you to follow along as I make my way through the year and share the life-lessons I've learned along the way.
Did you know that I have an Etsy shop?
Vintage Tea Treasures is where you'll find classic, timeless and fun teatime china ware, hand picked by me. I offer the best quality bone china and porcelain from famous brands such as Royal Albert and Franciscan.
No matter if you are looking for a replacement piece, need something for a vintage tea party, or are a prop stylist looking for an interesting piece to add to your collection, there are plenty of choices in my shop. And if you use the code PLUMBLOSSOM10, you'll enjoy a ten percent discount off your order. Your purchase helps fund the various materials and supplies needed to run this blog, and I appreciate every single sale, review, and shop favorite.
Also new in 2018 is my acceptance into the Etsy Affiliate Program. What that means is that you will see the official Etsy banner in the sidebar and at the bottom of this blog. If you click on one of those links and make a purchase from an Etsy shop other than my own, I may earn a commission. On occasion I may write a blogpost that features Etsy shops I admire and those too are affiliate links and will be clearly labeled as sponsored. Thank you for your support.
Besides Vintage Tea Treasures and Instagram, as mentioned above, you can also find me on Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook.
An internet friend once left a comment on one of my blog posts, observing that I am 'living a well examined life… and beautiful as well.' That statement struck a chord with me because this blog has been just that - my own version of exploring the aesthetics of living. My vision from the beginning was to express, through the intersection of photos and words, the ways in which I stylistically interpret my own life.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you will consider visiting me again, Under The Plum Blossom Tree!
And just a note, which I'm sure everyone is already aware of, that the ideas, photos and words in this blog are my own original creations, and if you see something you would like to share, please link with love.
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