Vintage Couture: It’s Back!
As woman who loves flashy clothes, when EJ emailed me a photo of a 1980s “CD de Christian Dior Robes de Soir” ball gown, with huge shoulder pads and sixteen …
Grace Howell Gentlewoman Painter
Another fabulous piece in MMG’s art collection, signed Grace Howell in the 1930’s, caught my eye. In the first two quarters of the twentieth century, a career female artist member …
COVID-19 Restrictions for Performing Artists
Kostis Protopapas, founder of the Performing Arts Initiative and Artists Director of Opera Santa Barbara, talks about the COVID-19 restrictions for performing artists.
Pewter Plates with a Royal Feel
EW sent me two scalloped pewter plates, one with a lion and the other portraying a lizard or dragon. Both are pewter, eighty-five percent or so tin with lead and …
How to Date an Ancestor Portrait
MMG crammed many lives into one glorious one as a tennis pro, interior designer, and antiques dealer, and now wants to downsize. She sent me photos of her collections. One …
Danny Meza and Bella Meza
Graphic and tattoo artist Danny Meza and his sister Bella Meza, a beauty and special FX makeup artist, talk about their creative lives during this pandemic. Watch the Video
Pandemic “Home-Work” Part Two
This COVID experience taught us that no one lives forever, and the importance of certain tasks: insurance, heirship decisions, donations. Situations call us to act from our center, and we …
Scottish Chest Tells a Story
My history with Scotland includes meeting my son’s father there. So when DG sent me an old Scottish chest of drawers, the prospect of fruitful research thrilled me. DG grew …
Santa Barbara Studio Artists at GraySpace Gallery
Artists Kerrie Smith, Ruth Ellen Hoag, and Wendy Brewer talk about how the Santa Barbara Studio Artists handle their show at GraySpace Gallery during the pandemic. Watch the Video
Pandemic “Home-Work” Part One
Two interrelated crises (one social and one biological) challenges the way we deal with our home environments, and how we tend our home and hearths. The recent loss of my …